Ercildoune, Stately Country Home

“Historic Home Fit for a Lord”,
“Haunting Grip on the Past”,
“Simultaneously Solid and Eerily Spectral”…

From its large windows ‘Ercildoune’ looks out over one of the loveliest views from any window in Australia. The eye takes in a group of lakes stretching away into the hills: a rose-garden with a granite wall, probably unique in this country; a beautiful swimming pool; a huge expanse of lawn, sweeping past English and Australian trees in a glorious mixture of British and colonial greens; and undulating pastures and wooded hills, wonderful country for riding. Its fishing is one of the prides of ‘Ercildoune’ which had the first trout hatchery in the State. The trout, in fact, arrived much as Royalty might, to be met at the Ballarat station by a party clad in top hats and dress clothes – in 1870! If it were not for the gum trees, the Australian grasses and the sun, ‘Ercildoune’ might be taken for a slice of England or Scotland……….The Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic.) 14/7/1934.

How it all came about. By Christine Dever.

This started off as a story about our involvement with an historic property called Ercildoune, but in order to do the story justice, I have decided to also provide a back story to how it all came about, for each owner played such an important cog in this wheel of fortune that encompassed some of Australia’s most interesting times, so it will probably come across as a bit of an Australian history lesson as well, but many of these successful pioneers started with practically nothing and went on to become very wealthy beyond all of their wildest dreams. So instead of just producing a story about a renovation of an important and intriguing old propery, I ended up delving deeper into Victoria’s pioneering history, and it is very confronting reading the stories of how the aborigines suffered so greatly in having their lands ripped out from under them due to the advancement of the British Empire. Many of the early pioneers paid a high price in having their children die at a very young age, and credit and admiration must be given to all of the strong women. We didn’t take it on to receive any accolades and we are not disappointed that it slipped under the radar. We took it on because we like to fix or improve things, and this time we fixed something that was actually a time capsule of Australian history, albeit somewhat in total disarray. I decided to spend a few thousand hours researching the backstory behind Ercildoune, and it won’t let go of me until I have finished it, and both my husband and I have recurring dreams about this property, and we’re not quite sure how a pile of granite and mortar could get so deeply under our skin.

The Beginning

In June 1999, my husband John and I were on a road trip to visit friends in Rutherglen, Victoria, because of a malicious attack on one of their beloved racehorses, and we had to make a pitstop at a Petrol Station in Seymour where John bought a copy of The Weekly Times. Always interested in keeping abreast of the rural property market, I ran my eyes over the property section and stumbled across a life changing advertisement –

HISTORIC AUCTION.

Sunday 6th June – 12 noon – on site. Ercildoune Road, “Ercildoune Homestead”. Burrumbeet via Ballarat. 180 acres – 73 ha – 1½ hours Melbourne – 30km west of Ballarat. An original landmark of Victoria – A significant two storey (c. 1838) Scottish Baronial homestead (approx. 100 squ) amidst old worlde setting. 19th century trees, lakes, and many notable buildings – (Mortgagee in Possession).’

Agents PRH Pat Rice & Hawkins.

After reading the advertisement out loud to John he of course said, “we should go and have a look at it” to which I probably rolled my eyes and replied “what would be the point”, but said husband John rather promptly arranged for an inspection anyway, and it was quite exciting to think that we were now going to inspect a property that was considered to be one of Victoria’s landmark properties, and with one of the oldest gardens in the State. I was secretly thinking that we wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of ever owning such a property, for a myriad of reasons, apart from the logistics of living so far away from John’s office in Melbourne along with our family and friends, but we had a history of not staying put in one place for very long, and had consequently moved quite a few times and had been temporary citizens of Port Fairy, Euroa, Panton Hill, Mount Buller, Main Ridge and Paynesville, with horses being the main catalyst for our more rural purchases. In the end, it became quite hard dealing with all the various injuries and accidents that the horses suffered, and I will probably never get horses completely out of my system, and the world should revere these intelligent and hardworking animals, that will always try and reward their compassionate and caring owners in the long run, but just like humans, their behavior is rather unpredictable at times.

I knew that we’d been immediately hooked by the advertisement for Ercildoune though, as not many historical properties like this ever come on to the market here in Australia, especially ones with design features that would look more at home in countries where it is not uncommon to see medieval castles. I had only just started to show an interest in gardening and gardens and had just completed an Advanced Certificate of Horticulture at Burnley College, whose own gardens date back to 1863. We had rarely even ventured over the Westgate Bridge, except for the time I visited Australia’s only medieval theme park Kryal Castle as a teenager, where I will never forget the somewhat disturbing visual called ‘The Whipping of the Wench’ that in this day of political correctness, is not performed there anymore. My husband and I had also taken our two boys to see the ‘open-air museum in Golden Point’ called Sovereign Hill, that is so interesting in that it depicts Ballarat’s first ten years after the discovery of gold there in 1851, and the 25-hectare site comprises over 60 historically recreated buildings, with costumed staff and volunteers. The second-largest gold nugget in the world weighing 69kg or 2,200 ounces, was discovered by Cornishmen in the Red Hill Mine which is also recreated at Sovereign Hill. Apart from those little adventures, we hadn’t heard much else about Ballarat, except that the climate was famous for being a tad chilly at times and that it occasionally snowed there, whereby these meterological events became newsworthy in Melbourne. Of course, inspecting a property with 16 fireplaces also gave us a bit of a clue about the necessity to keep warm there during the frosty Ballarat Winters. The date of our one and only inspection soon arrived, so we hit the Western Freeway and finally arrived at the town of Burrumbeet, where we turned off the freeway at Ercildoune Road and drove past the Burrumbeet Railway Station that had operated between 1874-1872. It had once had a short branch railway line to the Burrumbeet Racecourse where a special platform had also been erected and we were even lucky enough to have a home-bred racehorse come equal first there, but that was sadly her only win.

Ercildoune was now a landlocked 180 acres, so we had to reach the Homestead via a shared gravel road that was adjacent to the original carriageway that was now on the neighbour’s land. This must have looked magnificent in its day, and it would have been a real treat to arrive by horse and carriage and negotiate the 1½ mile driveway right up to the Homestead through the towering Monterey pines and Himalayan cedars, that were now well over one hundred years old with many suffering senescence. It is not uncommon to see great rows of these half-dead pines around country Victoria and it is such a difficult and rather expensive task for farmers to remove them and then replant as we were to find out. The official boundary of Ercildoune started near the dilapidated old Shearing Shed, and the formal entrance to the property gave us a hint of what was to come as the rather ornate wrought iron gates were attached to quite unsual circular castellated gateposts. We drove through a leafy canopy that hugged the driveway that was flanked by a myriad of suckering elms, willows and poplars, then on to a lawned area full of ornamental trees, including two towering ancient bunya bunya trees. On we drove through another set of smaller wrought iron gates, and suddenly the newspaper photo metamorphasized before our eyes, and believe me, it was a surreal moment, and I was certainly held just a little spellbound. It felt like that we had instantly been transported back to another time and place that was such a unique mixture of Scottish and Australian.

“With its thick walls and massive tower, its high pitched roofs, tall chimneys and battlemented parapets, it is reminiscent of Scotland’s feudal days; but the granite is from the nearby hills, the bricks and tiles are of Australian clay, and the water flows from the creek which is fed so freely from the hills beyond”.

The Australian Home Beautiful 1 February 1929.

Ercildoune was originally spelt without the ‘e’ and it was the second owner who added on the ‘e’ all because he wanted an even number of letters on the gates. It is such a melodic sounding name though, and was derived from the Gaelic Arciol Dun, meaning ‘the lookout hill’ and so named in order to perpetuate their family’s connection to an ancient keep or fortified tower that was situated on the Scottish Border. The hills they did settle near was called Mount Ercildoune (also called The Rhymer on an old map dated 1859) and its granite outcrops being situated not far from the rear of the Homestead, one of three exemplary volcanic landscape features in this area along with Mount Beckworth and Mount Bolton. According to Wikipedia, the Western Victorian Volcanic Plains is the third largest volcanic plain in the world covering an area of 2.3 million hectares and that is more than 10% of the State. It is believed that these basalt plains were formed by volcanoes over the last 6 million years with the most recent eruption being at Mount Napier 7,200 years ago. More than 90% of these plains have been cleared for farming and more than 400 volcano sites have been found here, with the sites near Ballarat being quite close together. It is not known why the volcanos stopped and some scientists believe that they are dormant volcanoes with the average depth of the lava being around 60 metres.

The year 1838 was chiselled on the large granite keystone above the black and white marbled portico area, the actual date that the pioneering Learmonth brothers, Thomas and Somerville, and later on Andrew, first took up the Ercildoun (without an ‘e’) Run. The name Learmonth is the name of a noble Scottish family that can be traced back nearly 1000 years to the year 1057. The front door had been left open for us, as we were one of several groups, and the inside hallway area now had many autumn leaves swirling in windswept circles around the lovely oak parquetry floor that had sadly been water damaged in places. Having been left mainly uninhabited for many years, it didn’t take long to find out that the inside of the Homestead certainly needed a mountain of work done to it to bring it back from its ruinous state. I could see that John was already thinking deeply about the logistics of the renovation works needed, as he is inclined to do about most things, and it was hard just to walk away and not do something about it. We had been told that a crowd of 5,000 people visited during an open day back in the 1950’s, and there was a sea of people trying to squeeze past each other on the stairs, in order to view the interiors of what had once been, “one of the stateliest places in the country”. It was reported that some of ‘the visitors’ sadly vandalized the garden and its statuary and at some stage many windows were broken. The garden statues certainly didn’t fair too well either, with the a Dutch looking man having his legs broken off, whilst the maiden suffered the indignity of having both her legs and head removed, and these parts were sadly never found, but we were to find out that the headstones in the cemetery had mysteriously disappeared too. The Homestead had certainly developed a bewitching mixture of rot, mould, burnt wood and ‘eau-de-possum’, the result of many of them having taken up residence in the roof cavities as some opportune gaps appeared over time, and the upstairs bathroom was certainly a testament to that with possum urine having permanently stained the wooden ceiling. The tower was also a concoction of off smells, that included the small microbats that called it home. The worst thing for these old properties, is being left empty for any period of time, and many do as they are fairly expensive to maintain, especially with such huge expanses of garden.

As it was a renowned sheep property there were some interesting history boards left behind and one had been signed by Major Currie and stated –

The Camden Flock of which this exhibit is representative was formed in 1797 from stock imported by Capt. Waterhouse to Australia from the Cape of Good Hope, selected from Merino sheep which were a present from the King of Spain to the Dutch Government. Of these, 5 rams and 3 ewes became the property of Captain John McArthur of Camden Park, New South Wales. In 1804 Captain McArthur visited England and purchased several ewes and rams at the Annual Sale of King George III’s merino stud at Hampton Court; pure Spanish Merino sheep of the same strain as those originally imported. Portion of the Foundation Flock so formed was brought to Victoria in 1846. After several changes of ownership it was acquired by Mr Thomas Shaw of Wooriwyrite in 1900, and after his death, by the present owner of Ercildoune. As many Australian Merino Studs trace their origin to this flock, it may be of interest to sheepowners to know that the Camden merino flock of which this exhibit is trpical has been inbred within itself for 144 years, without the infusion of any foreign blood, since the year in which the first merino sheep came to Australia. The average weight of the ewe’s fleece – 4.7lbs – would not compare with that of merino flocks of today, but in spite of inbreeding for 144 years the flock today is hardy, immune from disease, and thrives on a minimum amount of pasture. The quality of the wool, the soft silky faces and uniformity are typical characteristics of the parent stock — the pure Spanish Merino. H. ALAN CURRIE. 233/6/41

After what seemed like ages exploring all of the rooms, we decided to head outdoors and follow the path to the Walled Garden. It was the ultimate garden room, and the three metre granite walls gave it such a unique feel. The second owner and his sons are credited with building it, and like the Homestead, the granite blocks, described as being warm grey and having a silver tone, must have been sourced from an area abutting Mount Ercildoune. Old photographs by Russell Grimwade, showed that the area had once been subdivided into three garden rooms by two towering cypress hedges with archways cut into them. It is said to be the only Walled Garden of this scale in Victoria, over an acre in size, but whoever measured it out managed to get the measurements slightly out of kilter though, so it is strangely not a perfect rectangle. A mature date palm and a large Golden Elm were the remnants of what must have been a magnificent garden space to wander around in and some ancient Wisterias were growing rampantly in several places, including over the wrought iron gate. We than went and inspected all of the outbuildings all in different stages of decline, and it was becoming increasingly challenging to get our heads around what once was a small village, but we still drove back to Melbourne rather in awe of what we had just witnessed. I was not at all convinced that we should even attend the Auction, but it seemed like we had met our fate in a weird way, and my mind would not release the many images of Ercildoune way back then and as I can’t even now.

Even after a good night’s sleep, and with the hope that some sort of common sense would prevail, we decided to attend the Auction just to see what transpired but we thought it would be nice to have a weekend away in Ballarat too. We decided to book a room at the historic Craig’s Hotel where so many distinguished visitors had stayed over the years. It was an enjoyable stay in this grand Hotel, surrounded by some very nice period furniture, so we ate a hearty breakfast and wandered up Sturt Street that has many outstanding buildings that are testament to its golden heritage, including the Town Hall, Mechanics Institute, Railway Station, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Mining Exchange, just to name a few. It is quite amazing to think that beneath these historic buildings at the heart of Ballarat, there is an underground mine that is virtually still untouched, and mine shafts aparently still run everywhere beneath the foundations of the city and its surrounds. We left mid-morning to attend the Auction and I reminded said husband that he should not put in a bid at all as it would be complete madness to take on such a huge project. We parked the car and headed towards the large crowd that had gathered in front of the Homestead in readiness for the Auction. I reminded John again that it would be wise not to make any bids, but he now also appeared to be under the spell of Ercildoune, otherwise he would have listened to said wife.

The bidding then started, so I decided to walk to the Walled Garden, as I was not able to withstand the pressure of the unthinkable happening and a random lady came over to us and said that we should buy it as we were still young(ish). When I returned to the crowd, the property was just about to be knocked down to us, but just when we thought Ercildoune was ours, someone complained that they’d stuck up their hand and been missed, so the bidding re-started and the price kept going up again. I said to John, that re-starting the bidding was definitely an omen, so please let these other people have Ercildoune, but it was then knocked down to us again and we were destined to become the 7th owners. It was all very exciting and worrying at the same time, so we arrived back at our residence that night with many mixed feelings that included “what the hell have we just done,” and John actually admitted to being a little bit daunted for once, but I knew that if anyone could, then John was capable of coping with this huge project. We then steeled ourselves for the long and challenging road ahead and it was extremely satisfying to think that Ercildoune was going to become lovingly cared for once again. I didn’t realise back then how much this property would become firmly entrenched in my psyche, and how often Ercildoune would appear in my dreams. I thought I could shut that front door in 2014, and leave the roller coaster ride of mixed emotions behind me.

The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) has classified Ercildoune “as being of national significance, and one of the most historic and architecturally important Homesteads in Victoria. Architecturally the Homestead is of considerable importance for the first Homestead, which is one of the earliest surviving buildings in Victoria, the gardens and the main house and its interiors.” The Statement of Cultural Heritage Significance describes Ercildoune as “an extraordinary example of a mid-19th century pastoral property, comprising a range of buildings and elements dating from at least the mid-19th century, through to the early 20th century. It has the appearance of a small rural settlement, comprising an array of buildings and elements including the, caretaker’s residence, manager’s residence, gatehouse, garden plantings and structures, cemetery, waterways and hydro-electric scheme, wind-breaks, and a series of farm buildings such as the barn and shearing shed.”

Heritage Victoria had previously provided a grant of $12,750 for a very detailed Conservation Plan that was undertaken by Falkinger, Andronas Pty. Ltd., Architects and Heritage Consultants, dated April 1997, for the Riddoch family who had carried out some work to increase the electricity from 1 to 3 phase, cleaned up general rubbish and junk around the property, blocked access points to stop possum invaders, and had the road to Bishop’s Dam built. The Conservation Plan stated that “though the structure of the estate remains substantially intact, there is much to be done to conserve and stabilize the buildings and garden and return it to its former grandeur.”

Some examples of this past grandeur included ornate cornices and ceiling roses, Victorian stepped skirting boards, a staircase “associated with Georgian houses,” and the large skylight above the circular void surrounded by wrought iron balustrading. We’d heard from some locals that there had once been an impressive chandelier hanging in the hallway, but The Australian Home Beautiful article (1929) shows that there was once a large bronze Chinese lantern hanging there and the Curries did seem to buy quite a few oriental pieces during their travels. Ercildoune had been described as a storehouse of historic treasures of the old days. Two hundred items were bequeathed by Lady Muriel Currie to the Ballarat Art Gallery in memory of her husband Major Alan Currie and a publication named ‘The Currie Collection – 18th century and 19th century fine art objects and furniture.’ It states that “The collection reflects the tastes and experiences of an era now largely in the past. The fine English furniture, the sets of prints by William Hogarth, the von Guerard paintings from Sir Alan’s father’s property and the oriental items carefully chosen, one guesses, from a ‘grand tour’ to the Orient, popular around the turn of the century.” The last two sales of Ercildoune had been on a ‘walk-in, walk-out’ basis, so some of the Learmonth furniture was left behind, but it is not clear which pieces were theirs. Lady Currie bequeathed some of the most valuable pieces to the Ballarat Art Gallery in 1948, in memory of her husband Sir Alan Currie. Some of the oldest pieces are a Bureau Cabinet c1710, a Corner Cupboard c1795, a mahogany case Grandfather Clock c1809 and a Sideboard c1815. One of the best objects were a pair of rare and valuable bevelled carved wood gilt Wall Mirrors c.1760 that had Phoenix birds either side of the C scroll ornament on the top. I never knew that Phoenix birds are mentioned in Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology and according to ancient writers, lived for 500 years, then died and is cyclically born again after arising from the ashes of its predecessor (Encyclopedia.com and Wikipedia). Some say that after Lady Currie’s death, Erclildoune fell into decline. An Auction was held in 1963 on behalf of her Estate, stating that many items dated back to the original owners, and there were 413 objects offered, including furniture, kitchenalia including glasses, goblets, vases, sweet dishes, candlesticks and suffers, cruets, wine coasters… The more unusual items were Items No. 348, Mounted Rhinoceros’s head, No. 349 a Mounted Stag’s Head, No. 351 a Rhinoceros Hide Screen, and Item No. 360 was a Bear Skin Rug. We also heard from a local antique dealer that a pair of Ming Vases had allegedly been sold separately for $84,000.

I suppose we will never really know exactly what furniture the Learmonth’s brought out from Scotland. There were two white marble Adam fireplaces in need of repair, one in the drawing room and the other in the adjoining ‘smoking room’, as well as quite a few original wooden curtain rods and long brass rods used for hanging pictures from. A door led off the main hallway to the myriad of rooms that had been known as the ‘servants wing’ that included a dining room for their staff. Four other rooms were dedicated to cooking and food preparation and the ancient and commodious cast iron range cooker took pride of place in the kitchen that had a strapped fibrous plaster ceiling with a small scotia cornice. This room was inbetween a larger room and hallway known as the butler’s pantry that had once contained inbuilt cedar cupboards, but it had a lovely, but slightly damaged ornate griddled plaster ceiling that was flooded from the bathroom above due to a plumbing error. This led to a flower room and storage area. The bakery at the rear of these rooms had an extremely worn wooden step that signified that amount of foot traffic over the years, and this area also had another copper-based sink and a long bread oven. The floor in the bakery had concrete screed over a brick floor, but it had to be replaced with wooden floorboards after the floods.

One of the first cookbooks was The English and Australian Cookery Book written by a local landowner and published in 1864 and is described as being one of the earliest examples of how the British settlers adapted their cooking to the local ingredients. Kangaroo brains, roast wombat or emu – these are some of the dishes to be found in the first cookbook from Australia that includes native ingredients. The 1831 journal of Tasmanian Mary Allport uses a recipe for suckling pig in order to make a meal out of an echidna, and she also used stuffed wallabies as a substitute for Scottish hares.

The first three owners all became Members of Parliament with all three becoming Members of Parliament and sitting in the Upper House. They consequently entertained many distinguished visitors to Victoria included on their itinerary a visit to Ercildoune, so many magnificent feasts would have been prepared in this network of rooms and Ercildoune has been described as one of Victoria’s best-known centres of country social life. Many distinguished visitors were entertained here including Vice-regal parties, who came to Ercildoune for a deer shoot and Lady Hopetoun, who later became the Marchioness of Linlithgow, a keen angler, accomplished horse rider and hunter, shot the last deer at Ercildoune, but they thankfully only shot the stags – Tom Fisher’s comments in The Australasian 12 July 1930. The guest list often included important dignitaries from overseas including the Governor of Ceylon in 1877, Governor Generals, State Governors and Royalty, including the visit by Gordon Wilson’s wife, Lady Sarah Wilson (nee Sarah Spencer-Churchill) who was Winston Churchill’s Aunt, (and Ercildoune would have probably seemed like slumming it compared to some of the enormous ancestral properties associated with some of the guests). Sir John Longstaff, a five time winner of the Archibald Prize, and the first Australian artist to be knighted, along with fellow artist Daryl Linsday, Peter Purves-Smith, The English Cricket Team (1932-33) and the Delegates of the Japanese Goodwill Mission (1938) were also guests. The first three owners were all involved in politics at some level and entertained many other people involved in that realm including Robert Menzies, twice Prime Minister of Australia (1939-41 and 1949-66) and his wife Pattie who both signed the Ercildoune Visitors’ Book and Sir Alan Currie was elected to the Legislative Council in 1928, succeeding Mr. R. G. Menzies as Honorary Minister in the McPherson Government.

Bells played an important role in communication as there was a large brass bell that was rung 6 days per week at 6.45am in order for the employees to gather around and receive their instructions on what to do for the day. If they were late, then they were docked that day’s pay. Not sure what they would have used as an alarm clock back then, but maybe a rooster would crow when the dawn was breaking. There was also a row of ten brass servants’ bells situated inside a glassed-in porch area just off the kitchen area, but they were no longer connected. Each bell had a different tone so that the employees could identify the room that they were being summonsed from, and once successful, they would have hired quite a few house, parlor and laundry maids, housekeeper/cooks, gardeners, stable hands/grooms, just to name a few. According to Women and Marriage In 19th Century England by Joan Perkin: “Servants had to toil up and down stairs at the call of a bell carrying buckets of coal, cans of water and trays of food”.

The long narrow passageway off the kitchen area provided yet another albeit narrow, food preparation area, so that the various cooks could manage their own sections on the big occasions. The first section had a serving bench topped with a thick layer of lead in order to keep the food cool in the warmer months. At the end of this passage was an airy meat room, that was suffering from falling damp, but where the long wooden benches had worn quite thin in places from the constant chopping of knives. In-between these two areas, was an alcove with the pipe that was attached to the ‘slops’ basin upstairs, and maybe that was the first example of internal plumbing, or the next step up from using chamber pots at least. There was a linen room, with plenty of storage cupboards, that we soon found out wasn’t mouse proof, and adjacent to this room was the commodious wash-house/laundry, which contained the impressive copper under which a fire could be lit in order for the copious amounts of hot water washing to take place. There were signs of borer infestation here too, so the badly affected areas were replaced with new timbers. There were two huon pine troughs, (huon being one of the oldest living plants in the world and a lovely rich golden colour), and some of the brickwork still had blue stains on them from the old-fashioned blue bags that were used to whiten things back in the day. (“Reckitt’s Crown Blue is the best and safest way to keep white fabrics sparking, clean white. Crown blue can be used in hot or cold water. It does not contain dye or bleach. Directions: Wrap blue in cloth, cotton or muslin best”).

Upstairs at the front of the Homestead was where the main bedroom suite was located. It consisted of two adjoining bedrooms and a rather underwhelming ensuite. The names Avalon and Astolat had been carved over the doors, and from my research, both names appear to be linked to King Arthur whose legend is strong in the Scottish Border country. He has also been linked to their famous relation, Thomas the Rhymer, who is firmly entrenched in their intriguing family history. According to the information on Eildon Hall provided by Wikipedia, “The caverns of the Eildon hills are said to be represented as Avalon, where King Arthur took possession of the sword Excalibur. It is believed by some that King Arthur was buried in one of these caverns.” Kelvin arranged for and assisted with the building of the large built-in mahogany wardrobe that we had commissioned for the room called Astolat. Opposite these two rooms, across a very wide landing where the interesting skylighted void can be seen from the ground floor were the two adjoining bedrooms used by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, during his famous visit in 1934, along with the once castellated ensuite bathroom. John always checks everything and found out that this ensuite was being held up by a rotting telegraph pole. The ensuites were said to have been added on for the Duke’s special visit, along with the outside ‘water closet’, that became known as the Duke of Gloucester Loo. The Duke and Duchess of York were also meant to stay for a weekend during their visit to Victoria in 1927 but cancelled it giving the Currie’s very short notice and I’m sure that they would have spent weeks getting the property ready for them. Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, KG, KT, KP, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, PC, was the son of King George V and Queen Mary and he was Governor-General of Australia in 1945 for two years.

The back area of the Homestead was added on by Sir Samuel Wilson, the extremely wealthy second owner, whose family had nearly a half a century association with the property, and who at one time leased around 2.5 million acres of land and was thought to have been the largest sheep farmer in the world with 600,000 sheep. Imagine counting all of those sheep! He and his brothers shared some commanalities with the Learmonth brothers in that they came over here from Britain, albeit the Learmonth family was from Scotland and the Wilson family from Ireland, and subsequently made large fortunes. Charles Wilson was only 22 years old when he walked from Sydney to Melbourne to work for a squatter and then 12 months later, his brother Alexander and eldest brother John created the firm Wilson Bros. They had most likely also heard from Major Mitchell about where the best land was, although he did seem to see some of the land through rose coloured glasses with it being stated that he romanticized its virtues, especially as the Wimmera had a lot of land having only a limited amount of water. And just like the Learmonth brothers, they also set out with 2000 sheep, and acquired the necessary bullocks to pull their wagons through the somewhat challenging conditions at tines, and headed to the Wimmera region to take up their first run at Vectis, with the adjoining 96,000 acre Polkemmet run being taken up in 1842. Alexander Wilson was also a great horseman and in 1845 rode 280 miles in 3½ days to the Lands Commissioner to take out a licence for another run located 30 miles to the north of these properties that they called Kewell. They too had to boil down sheep when the market collapsed in order to make money from the subsequent tallow and sheep hides. They didn’t end up keeping the leasehold of Vectis but held Kewell and Walmer and Charles ended up tending the flock of 10,000 sheep himself when his shepherds took off for the goldfields. John returned to Ireland to get married and he returned in 1852 with Samuel Wilson, then aged 20 and the acquired the lease of Longerenong in 1856 and bought into Yanco and ended up owning Toorale and Dunlop on the Darling before the acquisition of Ercildoune. Wilson Bros. bought Woodlands where John settled, and he also acquired Trawalla. Alexander bought the original Vectis holding and lived there. He ended up mentoring his nephew Samuel McCaughey initially as a jackaroo at Kewell before going on to become incredibly successful himself. By 1862, Wilson Bros. holdings comprised of Kewell, Ashens, Avon Plains, Green Hills, St. Helens, Walmer, Kirkwood, Longerenong, Blackheath East, Marma Downs Stations. In addition, Alexander Wilson held the leases of Vectis, Muckindar, Arapiles, Darragan and Wyn Wyn. Longerenong, like Ercildoune, was a striking residence and had been described as ‘the finest Gothic villa in Western Victoria’, and he had also added on an additional ten rooms for servants’ quarters there too.

This ‘Wilson’ addition was connected to the front part by hallways that lead to six more bedrooms of varying sizes and there is a large tank apparently made of copper in the ceiling above the largest bedroom. There were three bathrooms and four toilets upstairs and we added 2 showers and had the heavy cast iron bath with brass feet re-enamalled. It took 4 strong men to carry the cast iron bath downstairs. It must have been a day for celebration when the basic ‘slops’ basin was replaced by proper plumbing with running water. Six out of the ten bedrooms upstairs had fireplaces in them, and they must have gone through a lot of wood, so one can only imagine the hustle and bustle required to keep them all burning, plus the copper in the laundry and the large kitchen range and bread ovens. At least a rudimentary outside lifting device on a pulley had been installed at some stage to make life a little easier when hauling up firewood etc.

The brothers came from one of the oldest families in Scotland and their family tree can be traced back 10 generations. The most notable Scottish Clans had their own tartan, family crest and motto, and were often tied geographically to a given area where there was an ancestral castle. Ercildoune may have been built to partly honour their memory and remind them of home, thereby creating an Australian Scottish connection and that included a tower that was attached to the main part of the house by an arm of ornamental stonework. Inside this tower, apart from a constant supply of dead bats, was a large tank that may have also been used to convey water to the bathrooms at some stage. A scion of the family was the famous explorer Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, and in building his residence Park Hall he stated that the country where he built it was rugged and wild and surrounded by hills and mountains that reminded him of the land in the County of Stirling. He built a home that reminded him of Park Hall because “my early years spent there with Thomas Livingston will always remain in my memory.” Thomas Livingstone Mitchell built one of the finest private residences in the colony of New South Wales at that time that also included a sixty feet tall tower that he adapted for astronomical observation. He placed ‘a parchment’ in a cavity of the foundation stone that read –

“Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, Hon. Doctor of Civil Law in the University of Oxford, accompanied by Charles Nicholson, Doctor of Medicine, in the year of grace 1842, and in the reign of Queen Victoria, laid the foundation-stone of this house, in a land now almost divided from the world, but which may one day equal in all the acts of civilization the illustrious regions of his native land.”

Thomas the Rhymer had been described as an intellectual man, a scholar and a respected landowner. His chapbook, of poems and prophecies were kept in almost every farmhouse in Scotland for centuries afer his death. Chapbooks are small paper-covered booklets, usually printed on a single sheet or portion of a sheet, folded into books of 8, 12, 16 and 24 pages, often illustrated with crude woodcuts. They were in circulation from the 17th to the 19th centuries, sold by travelling hawkers, pedlars, street-criers or ‘chapmen’ for a penny or less on the streets and at markets and fairs. His work also inspired many famous authors including Sir Walter Scott, who was born in Edinburgh in 1771 and has been described as the first international literary superstar. He contracted polio as a child and was sent to recuperate with his grandparents in the Scottish Borders for a number of years, where he acquired his broad knowledge of Scottish folklore, ballad and legend. The Rhymer’s name is associated with place names and clubs in the village to this day and the High School and many groups aparently use the tower as part of their logo. In the mid 19th century Earlston was experiencing an industrial boom and numerous new houses were said to be built from stones taken from the ruins of the tower. In 1895 the tower and adjoining land was bought by the Edinburgh Borders Counties Association to safeguard the two walls that are left.

A plaque on one of the two remaining walls of Rhymer’s Tower Earlston bears the words –

“Farewell my Fathers ancient tower! A long farewell” said he;
“The scene of pleasure, pomp or power, thou never more shalt be.”
“Adieu! Adieu!” again he cried, all as he turned him round’
“Farewell to Leaders silver tide! Farewell to Ercildoune”.
Walter Scott.

Somerville Learmonth Junior sent a stone back from their ancestor’s original tower as a special momento for the Currie’s and they inserted it into the wall outside the hunting room and the small brass tablet above it was inscribed:

“Ercildoun” Arciol-Dun (the lookout hill).
Stone from Rhymer’s Tower at Earlston, (Ercildoun), Scotland,
Occupied in the 13th Century by Thomas the Rhymer.”

It has been estimated that there was a castle built every 100 square miles in Scotland with around 3,000 being constructed throughout history, and it has been said that many of them impress us because of their gloomy grandeur and violent history, but many are also associated with chivalry and the landed nobility.

Wikipedia states that Scotland is geologically alien to Europe, comprising of the ancient continent of Laurentina which later formed the bulk of North America. Scotland’s bronze age occurred around 2200-800BC and an excavation at Edinburgh Castle found Bronze Age material dating from around 850BC. The closest Scotland was in distance to Australia was back in the days of Gondwanaland, but the oceans formed and the tyranny of distance protected Australia from the long tentacles of the British Empire for a long time. The Scottish have fought many wars with England over the years, nearly as many as the number of English that were beheaded if I’ve counted correctly, and then they fought their own Clan wars where they fought for reputation, wealth, territory and just for survival. They’d often play the bagpipes and the Highland Regiment never went to battle without a piper. I wonder who the first person was who said I think I’ll fashion this sheepskin into a bag and shove some wooden sticks into it and create a musical instrument. Scottish Laws were more humane in regard to the lesser offences than the English Laws, and they also have 3 possible verdicts in result to the outcome of a case requiring a ‘guilty’ or ‘not guily’ verdict by adding a third outcome of ‘not proven’ after an acquittal, but with the acknowledgement of continuing doubt about the innocence of the accused.

The Learmonth brothers must have been very keen to get on and build something substantial once they knew that there was no risk of them losing the land back to the Government, and it must have been satisfying to be able to build something substantial in granite rather than with bark, or wattle and daub. The Homestead has been described as being built in the Scottish Baronial style, a style that was aparently seen as a great romantic expression of architectural nationalism and tradition. The Ercildoune Homestead started off as a modest single storey dwelling with a verandah and the kitchen and laundry areas were possibly detached in the beginning, but it was probably built with further additions in mind. Major Alan Currie stated in his notes that the Homestead was commenced in 1840, and that correlates with the Learmonth Diary Burrumbeet, although it becomes confusing at times, as to which place they’re alluding too, so they most likely divided their time between both places depending on the needs of the sheep and the latest project. Thomas was married in 1856 and further additions to the homestead were said to have been completed in the late 1850’s. Nearly all members of the Learmonth family ended up having many children although sadly both Thomas and Somerville both had daughters die less than a month old.

The various letters we read indicated that Thomas and Louisa had been quite alarmed at the proposed cost of the additions when given an estimate from an unknown Ballarat architect, and they advertised for tenders to be submitted by builders, but for labour only. In the plans dated April 1859, it showed the current drawing room and ‘smoking room’ divided into a bedroom, office, drawing room, dining room that led to the tiny writing room. The kitchen premises were made up of 6 rooms including the kitchen area with fireplace, lumber room, bakehouse, scullery and 2 bedrooms. The letters exchanged between Thomas and his brothers, especially with his youngest brother Andrew, talk about their various ideas for the additions, and in the letter dated 8th April 1859, Andrew whilst in London, stated that it would be best to have a door strategically placed “to shut out from the house the effects of the water closet which you will find difficulty in rendering inodorous. If you can do without the closet (toilet) I advise you omitting it.” John Learmonth had put one in at Laurence Park, but it could not be used. Andrew also had jokingly written that: “B 15 x 13 will make a nursery now that you are paterfamilias, and it should have a well fitted door to deaden the sounds of the birch strokes and concomitant uproar.” Just like the whipping of the wench at Kryal Castle that I witnessed in my youth, any mention of birch strokes and children would be greatly frowned upon in this day and age. The letter from Thomas dated 11th June 1859 to Andrew states that the kitchen should be built immediately opposite the back door, as much labour is saved to the servants, and that the whole of the addition and the kitchen be built in brick, except for the front which for appearance sake ought to leave out quoins and cut facing. He also stated that another room could be required as a lumber room until either of their offspring require a school room and that he wanted to start the renovation in early Summer.

Thomas, Somerville and Andrew ended up having children born at Ercildoune, with the birth of the first daughter Louisa being recorded in March 1858. Youngest brother Andrew’s son Noel recorded as having been born there in 1871, not long before it was put on the market and Somerville’s son Lestock was probably the last child born there in 1872. At one time there could have been twelve children living with around a thirteen-year age gap from the youngest to the oldest, so the Homestead would have been extended in such a way in the late 1850’s in order to try and accommodate all of them. It is interesting to note that Andrew Learmonth is credited by Tom Fisher in improving the garden at some stage prior to Sir Samuel Wilson turning it into the showplace it became, but with the help of at least seven gardeners. It was probably an understatement that Sir Samuel ‘enhanced Ercildoune’s magnificent English garden’ as he added the Walled Garden, a huge keel shaped conservatory that housed begonias, gloxinia palms, hoya, rock orchids, cactus, and a planting of Asparagus torgatum formed four arches. There had also been a trellis conservatory that housed nine varieties of Japanese dwarf trees used as table decorations, along with variegated hydrangeas.

The map of the Parish of Ercildoun dated 1856 names the hill directly North of the Homestead Peak of Almond with the larger range to the North West of that being called Peak of Ercildoune. Another map dated 1857 names the two granite mountains in the area Mount Ercildoun (614m above sea level) and Mount Misery and shows the range of other crests nearby extending into a semi-circle and forming an ampitheatre of considerable extent. The Learmonth’s did ask Governor Latrobe for Mount Misery to be re-named but that request went unheeded. There are also some smallish caves on Mount Ercildoun which Gowrie the bushranger was said to have fortified to try and avoid capture, while he planned his further exploits, but he was eventually found and shot dead, and his skull was kept in the Homestead. Bushranging had been rife in Tasmania and New South Wales in the thirties and forties and spread to Victoria during the ‘golden fifties’, as any number of free men were determined to make an easy living in the lawless years which followed the gold discoveries of 1851. Mount Misery has the quarry area that aparently was known as the Ercildoun Mine, (652 metres above sealevel), and it is one of the highest mines in Victoria according to Bonzle. It is a stone deposit and provided the granite for the bulk of the Homestead and other outbuildings and the Ercildoune Sand Quarry still operates today. I was told that there was a place called Monkey Gully near here, so named because some of the early settlers called the koalas monkeys.

Sir Samuel Wilson donated £30,000 for the stunning Gothic styled Wilson Hall to be built at Melbourne University, and had also built Longerenong Homestead, and an imposing city house that he called Oakleigh Hall, located in East St. Kilda. This property was later bought by Andrew Fisher, one of Australia’s three time serving Labour Prime Minister’s who was another Scottish born success story. Sir Samuel Wilson owned at least sixteen rural properties according to the Australian Dictionary of Biography although he did subdivide Longerenong into five properties, not bad for a man who arrived here to join his brothers with only £250 in his pocket. It has also been stated that he saw Ercildoune as an important acquisition that would improve his social standing and his generous donation to Melbourne University for the construction of Wilson Hall also cemented his position in the upper echelon of society. He didn’t do anything by halves though and held the infamous and most hospitable annual sheep and ram sales at Ercildoune between the years 1877-1884. Potential buyers were handed red calf-skin catalogues complete with gold lettering on the front with the inside pages outlining the history and progeny of the Ercildoune sheep and rams. He was knighted in 1875 and his last visit to Ercildoune appears to have been in 1893 when he stayed for twelve months, but he died not long after returning to Hughenden Manor in 1895 at only 63 years of age. Two of his sons lived at Ercildoune during his absence and had some success with their racehorses, as did the third owner Sir Alan Currie with both of them having horses coming second in the Melbourne Cup. Wilfred and Clarence Wilson’s horse Wait-a-Bit lost by only half a neck in the 1898 Melbourne Cup and he had been bred at Ercildoune. He had suffered interference in the straight and a protest was lodged by the jockey that he lost, so it was noted that the horse had suffered some “tantalising ill luck” to lose. It was reported that Sir Samuel Wilson “was going to return to this colony and make it his permanent home” but that was not to be. (The Argus – Melbourne – 13th June 1895). Sadly two of his nine children died in infancy, and three out of four sons died fighting for their country, even though they could have lived a life of comfort, with reports of Herbert Wilson, then aged 36, living with a butler named Charles Taylor and eleven servants at an impressive sounding place called The Manor, Ashby Folville, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England. His trustees sold all of his assets in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland for the tidy sum of £2,000,000.

Sheep and Shearing – Gold Museum Display Information

Ercildoune’s primary business was the production of some of the highest quality wool the world has ever seen. The Learmonth brothers pioneered the technique of washing the sheep before shearing in order to improve the quality of the wool. This system proved to be extremely effective and in turn, succeeded in increasing their profits. On the advice of wool expert Thomas Shaw, they also devised a selective breeding program whereby they maintained the pure merino bloodline and introduced sheep from a number of celebrated flocks. Sir Samuel Wilson then standardized these procedures and produced an annual report of the results and the sixth one highlighted the role of the celebrated stud ram Golden Fleece. Sir Alan Currie discarded the washing program but retained the selective breeding program and under his management, Ercildoune continued to produce excellent wool.

Even though John was financially responsible for the majority of the work, we did apply for and receive a grant, to help pay for the work needed to the extremely dilapidated Shearing Shed, from Heritage Victoria and that became the next project after the Homestead. Major Currie states in his notes on Ercildoune that the original blackwood timber eight stand Shearing Shed had been built at their Buninyong property where the brothers first settled, before moving their operations to Ercildoune, and the trunks of trees had been used as stumps and the slats had been made from timber saplings. Around sixty thousand sheep were herded there annually to be shorn, so they must have really been attached to that shed, as they apparently went to the trouble to dismantle it and numbered each piece in order for it to be transported some thirty kilometres to be rebuilt at Ercildoun. Of course the Scottish people have a bit of a reputation for being frugal too, and when I looked up why Scottish people have a reputation for being a ‘bit tight’ with their money, one person stated that well into the 19th century Scotland was a poor, backward country whose people largely survived on oats, cabbage and peas, with some herring and potato if they were lucky. We ended up relacing all of the battens after the stumps had been replaced by the hardworking local Steve, with wood that we had milled on the property from many of the dead cypress that had died due to the drought. Remnants of the old sheepwash were scattered around the place in various locations. This process involved having water pumped to a boiler that stored and heated the water in an elevated cistern. The soaking vat could hold about fifteen hundred gallons and after a few minutes in the vat, the sheep would swim about ten metres along a gangway to a dripping yard where they would then be sent down a shoot to a spouting area in the washpool. The men could wash around twelve hundred sheep a day at a cost of one penny per head, and good money was made as the washed fleeces sold for two shillings at the London sales.

The granite Gatehouse, or gardener’s cottage, underwent significant renovations, without rebuilding what was possibly a kitchen laundry area no longer in existence. The Cottage behind the Homestead also received a makeover and had to have some huge cracks fixed and drainage put in around this building. The stone-cobbled Stables and Loft, with assorted rooms attached and an add-on garage area for motor cars, were all repointed and rebuilt internally, and the rooms added on beside the original stables in granite at a later date, may have been used as a gunroom or even a gaol as rumour has it. Up the road to the left of the back lake was the rather orante Gothic Manager’s House, and not far from this was another granite outbuilding called the Old Men’s Quarters, that could have originally been a stable block. On the other side of the lake were the Shearers’ Quarters, with a large freestanding meat safe on stumps located nearby, then a School House and the Rabbiters’ Cottage, one of the oldest buildings on the property. The rabbiter was said to have a pack of over twenty dogs at one stage, so there were dog kennels located a bit further up the hill and five thousand rabbits were said to have been killed at Ercildoune in 1885. Major Currie had six trappers who, in the depression era, caught around five tonnes of rabbits a day that were then sent to Melbourne to be sold for meat. Hares were very destructive and had ringbarked many of the deodars in the two kilometre driveway, and they apparently do this when they’re searching for moisture. The saying “Mad As A March Hare” came about as the males look like their boxing each other in order to impress the females during mating season. At the height of operations, the shearing season could require fifty shearers, forty men washing and forty rouseabout men, so that’s a lot of accommodation to provide and mouths to feed. Sir Samuel Wilson also employed over one hundred workers, ten indoor staff and seven gardeners. No doubt there were once specific areas to keep Jersey cows for milking, numerous bullocks and possibly some pigs. We didn’t complete the renovation on the Gothic Manager’s House as the damage was just too great, and there had also been a fire in the kitchen area at one stage. We were given a ballpark figure of $300,000 by one of the builders, so put that little project on the backburner. But all leaking roofs, gutters and downpipes were repaired or replaced on every building or structure, and truckloads of the vegetation that had self-seeded near these outbuildings was also removed. Ivy had been vigorously growing on the South and East walls of the Homestead, but its stems were now very thick, and it was consequently removed to prevent further damage to the mortar.

John and I also worked as hard as time allowed most weekends, in order to complete as many jobs as possible on the “to do” list that we created on the roadtrip home after every visit. But the final result couldn’t have been achieved without an amazing team of people headed by Dianne Gow, who had her own interior decorating company called Harlequin Designs in Ballarat. Dianne had completed many design projects over the years and was instrumental in advising and guiding the people working on this project and coupled with John’s eagle eye for detail added into the mix, we naturally ended up with a satisfying result. She had twice been engaged by previous owners to manage the project, but this time she managed to get over the finishing line for one of her ‘all-time favourite makeovers’ and I guess that it ended up being a case of third time lucky. Each room had accumulated many layers of paint or had been wallpapered several times over the years, so she scraped back the walls often finding some amazing and quite challenging colour schemes. When the hallway was prepared for painting a six-sided star was uncovered. We didn’t ever find any clues as to why it was put there, or if it was of Scottish or Irish origin, but I’d like to think it was the Star of Creation with the six points being attributes of power, wisdom, majesty, love, mercy and justice. Gradually each room had any cracks repaired and was given a fresh coat of paint, and Dianne chose the appropriate style of carpet needed. Curtains added the final touches to each room, and Dianne arranged for many lovely old worlde pictures that we’d chosen from an amazing catalogue to be sent off for framing. We bought some huge rugs for the Drawing Room and then filled up the Homestead once again with mainly antique furniture. We spent many a happy hour hunting through many Antique shops to find pieces that would do the Homestead justice, and many of the really special pieces were obtained through XXXX Antiques in Castlemaine. John received a deer head mount as a special gift from some work colleagues and it was stated that a Sambar deer head was given to Captain Wilson as a gift around 1908.

Is Ercildoune Haunted?

We did hear quite a few stories about Ercildoune having some uninvited house guests. One person said that it was a jouney down memory lane for him when he visited our website. He aparently used to shoot rabbits and ended up knowing ‘the caretakers’ quite well. He then did some work on the property and assisted with some of the restoration work inside and out. He said that whilst he was painting in the ‘Duke’s bedroom’ that he had a scary experience that still haunts him of a ghostly image that still makes him shiver. Dianne had told us that she’d heard footsteps upstairs when she’d had to visit an empty Homestead, and no-one was apparently there when she went looking, and one day we were sitting in the kitchen area and thought that we heard children giggling and when we went to look for them, and of course there was no-one to be found. The antique dealer who delivered the half-tester bed even wrote us a letter stating that when he left, a little girl with plaits in her hair and about ten years old, rode in the passenger seat of his van down to the front gate and then promptly disappeared. It was in this half-tester bed that I had my first nightmare of sorts too. I woke up but couldn’t speak and it took a little while to find my voice. A friend was staying in the room opposite and I said to her that I hoped I didn’t scare you by making some strange noises, and she said that she thought she heard people arguing outside her window too. And the stories keep coming as one of the painters also saw a little girl standing outside the Gatehouse, when he arrived in the wee hours of the morning, similar to the Antique Dealer’s vision. Other people saw a vision in the drawing room of a woman sitting in a chair and another friend saw a vision of the young girl up in a tree. Our dog locked himself in the car with the keys in the ignition when we’d parked outside the Gatehouse and we didn’t have a spare key, so we called for the RACV who also had trouble opening the driver’s side door and was in the process of phoning some else for some advice on how to go about it when his mobile rang and the door locks mysteriously released and out jumped one very relieved dog. Other people shooting rabbits prior to us owning the property said that they would feel as if though someone was pushing them. The younger people in the district held the occasional séance in the Homestead and the story goes that even though the power was not connected, a light kept arcing in the drawing room and the pipe organ even started moving by itself. Many photos we took seemed to have orbs or weird shaped images that were probably just due to dust particles, or some chemical reaction during processing, but who knows for sure.

The Ercildoune Conservation Plan states that the graves are also significant for their associations with the staff of the estate. The existence of a cemetery on the estate is a further indication of the large scale and importance of the property, which was home to a community large enough to justify the provision of a private graveyard. There are six children and two workmen buried there, and it is believed that some of the causes of their sad deaths were drowning, acute bronchitis in a male infant, dental diarrhea in a male infant, a 16 year old dying from general atrophy, heart disease, pneumonia, premature birth and even a suicide. In 1890, the Health Commission stated that no further interments were to take place at the cemetery. The grave of the infant Learmonth daughter remains intact, probably because it is surrounded by an iron railing fence that has prevented any animals from disturbing it. The graves used to have headstones but now appear to be marked by Cherry Laurel trees and the area was said to have been surrounded by a stone wall.

Water is always a topic of conversation with many farmers in Australia due to the history of droughts and not many people can have the luxury of living in areas with consistent rainfall. The Learmonth’s had to choose somewhere that had a reliable supply that included underground springs, in order to be able to breed sheep in such large numbers and created four large lakes and dams that wound their way down the granite boulder lined valley from Lake Ercildoune, that had originally been a swamp. This lake is no longer on the Title and had to be banked up on two sides to create a good water holding area that they could release down to the Homestead through the narrow valley. There is mention of the Learmonth’s laying “pitch and paper” pipes possibly partially made in England, over a fairly long distance in order to convey water from the spring half a mile away for the use of the Homestead (Leader 6 July 1918). After Major Currie had the channel built for hydro electricity, dinner guests would occasionally be plunged into darkness when a hapless sheep would become stuck in the channel, and a poor employee would have to try and find the sheep and remove it so that the electricity supply could be restored. As the waterways were now all connected and the area was downhill, there were some major floods in the area when the rains were heavy, and the springs filled up the waterways to the extent that they broke their banks. We learnt the hard way that it’s not ideal living at the lower end of a valley, especially when too much rainfall savagely creates such an uncontrollable force and it was a surreal experience waking up to the sound of a rushing river that decimated much of the garden and found its way into the back rooms of the Homestead, but luckily it seemed to disappear down the gaps in the floorboards. John went out at midnight on the excavator to dig more channels to avert the water, and our neighbours helped us with flood control and we undertook three massive clean ups, as we were flooded in September 2010, December 2011 (215mls) and February 2011 (110mls). It was soul destroying to have to re-do nearly all of the roads including the driveways again, and have expensive earthworks carried out below Lake Ercildoune in order to try and contain the water and redirect it away from the Homestead in order to alleviate any further epic disasters. Quite ironic too after the years and years of hand watering. The new plantings on the bank of the dam wall didn’t fare too well, the newly planted Wollemi Pine lost its will to live and we never did find one of the quite heavy garden ornaments that had been washed into the front lake. It was just part of the rollercoaster ride, but we still managed to hold an Open Garden Day on the 20th November and donated $3,000 to the CFA and Soliders Hall, Burrumbeet.

We once had a cormorant get stuck in the pump up at Bishop’s Dam and also an eel that Robin and Steve extricated. Aparently eels used these waterways as part of their migration route. The warmest lake was called Lake Rhymer by the Learmonth brothers and was aparently favoured for swimming being a few degrees warmer than similar bodies of water in Ballarat, some state due to its geographical location near an offshoot from the Great Dividing Range. Some charred stumps remained visible in the section of sand beside the water, of what had been a changing room, built on to a small jetty that had burnt down in the 1976 bushfires. We spent around $40,000 just having the two lakes nearest to the Homestead emptied and cleaned out as they had silted up over the years and had become choked with bulrushes and swamp grass. We even bought some trout fingerlings to place in them, hoping that they wouldn’t all eaten by the voracious cormorants.

It is interesting to note that some of the huge willows growing around the waterways on the property were aparently grown from cuttings “as big as walking sticks” that were taken during a visit by the brothers from the willow planted at Napoleon’s grave on the British owned island St. Helena that was once an important stopover for ships. Most of the pathways around the lakes were scraped as they had acquired a deep layer of soggy accumulated matter on them from years of decaying falling leaves. At Burnley we learnt about desire lines that people create when trying to get from A to B, so it wouldn’t have been long before there was a network of pathways going in all directions, and there ended up being around 11 kilometres of them in all. There was even a walk on a 4’ wide path that wound its way up to Bishop’s Dam on two sides of the valley, (described by one writer “as tortuous as a lawyer’s cross-questioning”). It meandered through a forest of towering trees, many of them festooned with creepers and nestling in amongst huge granite outcrops, and that dropped down to a creek with huge boulders creating some fascinating formations that included a water hole large enough for a dip. I wouldn’t want to have been wandering around there when the venomous snakes were out and about though. Tree ferns, palms, camellias, an Agave Americana that has a flower stalk so large that it is capable of growing six inches a day, and other exotics were planted here. Half way up the valley was evidence of some of the famous fish breeding ponds, and according to Salmon at the Antipodes, trout was left in various fish breeding ponds when the Learmonth’s vacated the property, as they’d raised them on behalf of the Ballarat Fish Acclimatisation Society between 1870 and 1873. At one stage there had even been a thatched structure used as a fish hatchery but that had been lost forever after being engulfed by blackberry bushes.

Then the, Wind Farm Appeared

“One wind turbine takes 900 tons of steel, 2500 tons of concrete and 45 tons of plastic.”

We couldn’t believe our ears when we first heard about the Waubra Windfarm installation. Apart from the fact that they don’t add up in any way as a viable proposition, they really spoiled the unique beauty of this area. After we sent the windfarm company a letter of complaint, they agreed to move 3 of the towers that were going to be built on Mount Misery a few metres further back to lessen their dreadful impact on our rural views. John had asked for some tree lines to be planted in order to help soften the look but didn’t receive any response. They are just an ugly blight on the countryside affecting not only the health of many people in the community, but they are a killer of the local birdlife too as their blades can sweep a vertical space of around an acre. It is totally unfair that people having them thrust down their throats, do not getting compensated in any way at all, whilst neighbours are prepared to put them up on their own farming land and rake in the cash. We had one of our neighbour’s actually knock them back, even though he could have also made a bundle. The theories behind them do not add up and they are just a bandaid measure and a total waste of money and part of the reason why we sold up, as the people in the community who are against them, have no say in their installation. Talk about adding insult to injury, especially after we’d been through the Millenium drought, and then some of the worst floods on record, and had worked tirelessly to open up the garden to interested people, even though it cost us a fortune to do so.

Some British History

Some called it a time of brutal oppression and naked greed. The British Empire controlled 412 million people around the world and at one stage covered nearly one quarter of the Earth’s total land area, and the phrase “the empire on which the sun never sets” was often used to describe it because its expanse around the globe meant that the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories. The independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after the American War of indepence caused Britain to lose some of its oldest and most populous colonies. British attention soon turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. After the defeat of France in the Napoleonic Wars, Britain emerged as the principal naval and imperial power of the 19th century, and the Industrial Revolution transformed Britain so and at the time of the Great Exhibition in 1851, the country was described as the “workshop of the world”. Thomas and Somerville Learmonth took a voyage to London that year and possibly had a look at the Great Exhibition. Dramatic population increase druing the 19th century, accompanied by rapid urbanization caused significant social and economic stress. Many people had been forced out of Scotland and Ireland, escaping from continued oppression and periodic famine and many of the formerly oppressed became themselves in the colonies, the imperial oppressors. Wherever Britain tried to plant its flag, there was resistance (Richard Gott has written a book called Britain’s Empire – Resistance, Repression and Revolt – September 2011). One thing for sure, British history tells us that England and Scotland, were often fighting it out, and Ireland has also had a long history of discontent and after the War of Independence gained independence from Britain and created the Irish Free State, or Republic of Ireland.

When the people back in Britain heard how John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner had arrived in Australia and started organizing land deals with the aborigines, they must have been somewhat gobsmacked how white settlers could simply trek into the bush and mark out large parcels of land (640 acres or 1 square mile in size) that they then leased until they were in a position to purchase it. It is said that no body of men ever created so much wealth in so short a time, but resentment did grow against the squatters’ monopoly. Despite their dubious methods of ensuring their own success, the squatters had an enormous impact on Victoria’s early development. It would have helped them immensely to have had connections with people ‘in the know’. Many of them retained close ties to their homeland, and many families retained properties in both Britain and Australia with many going back home and taking their fortune with them. Some hired managers or had their younger sons manage their valuable holdings, that had cost them as little as £1 per acre, on the undertaking that they made improvements. When selectors came into conflict with the squatters, they often managed to circumvent the law with the use of dummy bidders as one example, and there was pressure on the squatters to release these tightly held lands and that finally caused the necessary changes to the law, and many proeprties were carved up for Solider Settlement as well.

The young Learmonth brothers were the second and third born sons and were certainly lucky to have each other for moral support and companionship. Their ancestry tied in with the Border country of Scotland and England, an area where ‘Rievers’ or raiders wreaked havoc by committing robberies and where cattle raiding between Clans became a way of life in highland Perthsire in the 17th century, so quite similar to our so called Australian bushrangers who started off being mainly escaped convicts. The Clan system has been described as ‘tribal’ as they lived by the sword and perished by the sword, and it started dying out by the 18th century. There were around two thousand bushrangers in action at one stage, until the capture of the Kelly Gang in 1880 led by the notorious steel plate wearing Ned, considered somewhat of a folk hero in this country, who was born in Beveridge, Victoria, to Irish parents. The Learmonth’s eldest brother John had become a doctor who had a medical practice back in Tasmania. Tasmania was described as a rugged island of temperate climate and was considered so similar to pre-industrial England in some ways, that it was referred to by some English colonists as ‘a Southern England’. Thomas and Somerville were certainly well travelled for their young age, and had now landed on their third continent, having previously been associated with Scotland and India. They would probably have rarely questioned their father’s wishes, but I should think that it would have been tough decision for him to send them to Port Phillip as teenagers, but strong family values and their faith bolstered their endeavour, even though it was such a dangerous undertaking at the time. Thomas Senior seemed quite happy to stay in Tasmania and visit his sons on the odd occasion, once they had laid claim to some of the best sheep country in Victoria.

Reference to The All-Time Richest Australian 200 Rich List by William D. Rubinstein in Association with BRW (2004).

NB If you don’t like to hear about people making it filthy rich, then I suggest you skip this bit.
The second and third owners had also bought properties during droughts with Sir Samuel Wilson buying out his brothers during the drought years up in the Wimmera region, and John Lang Currie settled for land around Camperdown which ended up producing ‘perfect’ wool according to the London wool buyers, and in a decade he was rivalling the Learmonth brothers. He had a flock of around six thousand sheep in 1846 and they had multiplied over five-fold by 1879. In 1870 the judges at the Skipton Show had said that the density of wool was unequalled in Victoria and his rams were even sent to South Africa and America. He died in 1898 and left an impressive Estate worth £546,115 ($2.2 billion) and is listed at No. 106 of the second era (1850-99) in The All-Time Richest Australian 200 Rich List. Sir Alan Currie’s cousin was Dr. Lang who, like the Learmonth’s, also had ties with the border country of Scotland. The greatest amount of money was made by the diminutive Irishman, Sir Samuel Wilson though, who died in 1895 and is listed at No. 44 in The All-Time Richest Australian 200 Rich List with an Estate valued at £762,667 ($3.89 billion). His brother John had died seven years earlier in 1888, and he had also left a large Estate valued at £608,055 ($2.26 billion). It was therefore not surprising that quite a few of the Wilson offspring married into the appropriate class of English families themselves. Sir Samuel McCaughey (knighted for his philantrhropy during the Boer War), was Sir Samuel Wilson’ nephew, and departed this world owning 3,250,000 acres, leaving a huge Estate worth £1,752,532 ($2.38 billion). He died unmarried and became one of the greatest Australian philanthropists of his time and once even visited Louis Pasteur in France (without success) to find out from the great scientist a means of exterminating rabbits by bacterial means. Pasteur was apparently quite amazed at the size of the area that McCaughey wanted to eradicate these pesky rabbits from. These clever pastoralists all carried out irrigation projects on their properties, and this subsequent increase and control over their water allowed them to breed large numbers of sheep, no doubt contributing to their great success as sheep farmers. It was said that once the springs, (aquifers) did break through at Larra, they kept on flowing, and the Camperdown area, like the area that included Ercildoune, was also described as being the “finest sheep country in the world.”

Somerville and Andrew didn’t miss out on being listed in The All-Time Richest Australian 200 Rich List either, with Somerville being listed at No. 53 in the New South Wales section of the second era under ‘Also-Rans’ with an estate worth £200,000, and Andrew at No. 43 in the Victorian section at 43 with an estate worth £210,237. It seems that in the beginning of their business affairs in the new colony that Thomas Learmonth Senior managed his sons’ financial situation from Tasmania, and the brothers stated that they didn’t draw out any wages for years. Thomas Junior was even quite surprised about how much money their father had put away safely for them and stated –

“This is a matter for which I desire specially to bless God. I have thus been kept from spending money in folly and sin. And by working hard for it, I have learned to value it, not as in itself good, but I hope as the means of doing good – God grant that grace may be give me to be a faithful and wise steward”.

The ‘the um Spiro Spero’ was found carved into the top of the.

And faithful and wise they must have been, and they listened to anyone who could advise them on how to improve their stock, so they ended up closely following the advice of both Thomas Shaw Senior and Junior, thereby importing the necessary livestock from their home country in order to keep improving their bloodlines. They were very interested in the acclimatization of many different animals and kept lamas, their cousins the alpacas, Indian Sambar and British fallow deer, and bred trout at Ercildoune. They were also instrumental in attempting to introduce fish from the Murray River region to the area, but it was reported that this venture didn’t succeed. They won many prizes at the agricultural shows with their award-winning sheep, cattle and draught horses. The breeds they favoured were Scottish Clydesdale and Herefords but they also kept Jersey cattle and pigs.

The Lure of Gold

The discovery of gold helped the Learmonth’s bank balance as they were now providing meat to the goldfields and they went on an invested in several gold mines. It was also a double-edged coin, and probably the main reason for them eventually moving from Buninyong to Ercildoune in order to get away from the hundreds of people, some exhibiting less than desirable behaviour, that had made their way to Buninyong in order to seek their fortune. They decided to sell the Egerton Gold Mine due to low yields, and they consequently suffered the disappointment of having to endure one of the most notable Mining Cases in Australia’s history in order to reverse what they thought was an injustice done to them, as large quantities of gold was discovered after the ink had barely dried on the sold agreement. This mine was sold to Martin Loughlin and it went on to extract another £2 million worth of gold according to T.F. Bride in 1910, so now wonder they felt swindled. I’m not sure why the Learmonth’s didn’t retain a share at least, so maybe it was because they’d already decided to leave the area and concentrate on their property called Groongal in New South Wales. The shrewd purchasers included William Bailey, who had been the Manager of the mine and who had been acting as the Learmonth’s agent in order to find a purchaser, and unbeknownst to them, he had also bought into the mine for £1,000. Bailey ultimately died a very rich man and built the mansion that is now part of the Ballarat hospital, and Martin Loughlin ended up being listed at number 25 in The All-time Australian 200 Richlist. So even though there could have been a gigantic pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the Learmonth’s, I think that it was the fact that they felt that they’d been treated unfairly by somone they’d trusted, and being very religious men, they would most likely have been more concerned about the honesty issues. Peter Gardner has written an interesting article on the case where he says that the Learmonth’s loss was possibly more of a political decision due to the low popularity of the squattocracy. Somerville had stayed on to fight this case and became quite ill in the ensuing years as he’d also had to get Ercildoune ready for settlement. Thomas had retired to the ancestral property Park Hall in 1868, and being such a prominent and active citizen, he was probably lucky to have left Ercildoune and all its challenges far behind him, and hopefully he spent his latter years with his family in peaceful retirement, and he did end up outliving his brothers by quite a number of years.

The most challenging times

The latest drought Australia has suffered has been called the ‘millenium drought’ and it lasted nearly a decade and made life extremely difficult for everyone on the land, with many farmers being tragically unable to go on as banks foreclosed on their properties. Many of them had to shoot their starving stock and were left feeling totally helpless and suicides amongst farmers is tragically double that of the general population. Many businesses in the area were also struggling and feed for our horses, sheep, and small herd of cattle became increasingly difficult to obtain. Australia’s climate has to be one of the most challenging in the world, and our farmers have to ride a horrible roller coaster of debt and despair, when watching all of their hard work count for nothing when the rains don’t arrive. We donated the profits from one of our Open Garden Days to Farmers in Drought, when over two thousand people attended, and the Ballarat and District Division of General Practice organized an event called Diamonds in the Dust, that was held in a marquee in the grounds of Ercildoune for a number of years, with helpful advice and medical checkups available for the women affected by drought too, and one year 2013 Australian of the Year, Ita Buttrose was the guest speaker and even drove herself. Her fee is now $11,556 (allegedly) if anyone is interested in having her do a talk. We also donated $2,000 from a November Open Garden Weekend, that sadly ended up less than ideal weatherwise, to the University of Ballarat Pipe Band. The musically gifted Bradley Saul still managed to do some piping for the five hundred visitors whilst dodging the rain, and $500 was also raised by the hard-working locals from providing light refreshments in the Shearing Shed, for the Learmonth Junior Footy and Netball Clubs. And apart from the droughts, floods, the windfarm and insect plagues, we had the threat of a bushfire a bit too close to comfort too, when Mount Misery caught fire after a lightning strike that was thankfully quickly and safely contained by the local fire brigade. Australia has just gone through the worst bushfire season of all time and my heart goes out to everyone personally affected by them, as they destroyed over 46 million acres in New South Wales and Victoria alone, and it is reported that the fires tragically killed around one billion animals overall, and in the worst possible way as many of Australia’s wonderful native animals, like our precious koalas, are too slow to escape any sort of fire, and some species will be most likely on the brink of total extinction. Now, in 2020, we have to deal with the deadly Covid19 pandemic, that is creating even more untold sadness and stress for everyone as it spreads its deadly tentacles around the whole world.

Our menagerie and other assorted visitors.

We eventually settled on raising Dorper sheep, as they didn’t need shearing, that we had found to be quite expensive, as Dorpers just drop their wool around the paddocks. We bought six alpacas to help protect the lambs from any marauding foxes. Paddocks were re-fenced for the safety of our horses, but they will inevitably find a way to injure themselves no matter how safe you think you’ve made the fencing. We sent two mares in foal off to the local stud to foal down and there was a bad storm that caused one mare to fatally skewer herself on a fence post killing both herself and her foal in the process, and the other mare gave birth to a healthy filly that was kicked by another mare and sustained injuries that also meant she had to be put down. I have so many stories about horse accidents, but I think I’ll stop there. Chooks were also procured for the once pheasant and partridge filled aviary, and we raised some chickens after we were given a rooster, and it was really nice to have free-range eggs on the menu. Luckily none were taken by foxes as had been the case with our property down on the Mornington Peninsula where my favourite chook was taken when sunbaking on the backdoor mat. We also found the old plans that Major Currie had drawn up for the elaborate poultry shed that was sadly no longer in existence. We thought we’d try keeping two ferrets as pets and ended up with just one rather cheeky one that we called Fred, and he got on really well with a rescued stray cat that we named Eva. Fred lived for a few months with an adventure loving anonymous orange ferret that came inside through the doggie door totally unannounced one day. I thought I was having a hallucination when I first saw him, but he must have escaped from his handler whilst hunting for rabbits up in the hills. I have a great picture of him hanging off the top rack of the dishwasher whilst on another exploratory mission, but he only stayed for a short while with us obviously having other fish to fry and he disappeared again one day just as mysteriously as he had appeared. Everyone in Australia would have many stories about our wildlife that sadly has a knack of decimating gardens, especially new plants or new growth, as well as hares that have the added ability of ringbarking trees. A whole horde of potentially destructive critters called Ercildoune home, and there was no short supply of hares, rabbits, stem munching rosellas and cockatoos, possums, rats, house invading mice, wallabies and kangaroos. Then there are the winged variety that come in hordes, like the wingless hoppers and marauding cockshafer beetle. We were lucky that the locust plague didn’t eventuate in 2010 and there were reports of swarms of up to twenty-five kilometres, but sadly many other farmers had their pasture and crops decimated by them, but we did end up with a caterpillar plague in 2009. One of the most unusal fungal growths I’ve ever seen in my life called ‘Devil’s fingers’ also appeared in the paddock and they are one of the creepiest looking things I’ve ever seen. Then in 2007 giant spiderwebs were floating thickly in the air and on the ground in the Burrumbeet area, and they’re supposedly from baby orb spiders, so I’d hate to think how many there are breeding around the place if they can produce so many webs.

Quite a few less destructive species insisted entering the Homestead via unusual means, and a white Goshawk even managed to smash through a kitchen window, but it was shooed out again unscathed. Numerous frogs seemed intent on coming inside too, and every year the little bats would breed in the chimneys and attach themselves onto the back of the curtains, but some would sadly perish upside in vases, or anything with a hollow spot for them to nest in. One of my funniest memories is when a friend and I were watching television with our riding helmets on and waving tennis racquets at the lightning fast bats who were just missing us, and they could not be encouraged to leave through the open window. Of course, as soon as husband John arrived home, he managed to coax them out of the window in no time. They are usual in that they can eat five hundred mosquitoes an hour at least. We were also awoken some nights, by our dog frantically barking downstairs at a possum with its baby clinging onto it so it started climbing up the curtains when we tried to entice it out through the open door. Sadly, there were quite a number of feral cats in the area too, and one very mangy looking one also entered the house, but we ended up adopting two others as pets. And apart from the cats, bats and rats and creepy crawlies that included one of my least favourites, the Australian huntsman spider, we also found a blue tongue lizard in the dining room, and on another occasion, had swarms of bees making hives in several chimneys and it was yet another surprise to arrive and see a large swarm of them milling around the bedroom window.

The Amazing Walled Garden.

The Walled Garden had been described as being “a receptacle for the most valuable plants” and “laid out in the most modern London style with a unique design of squares and curves” (Ballarat Star 23 January 1901). It once housed a double blue Wisteria of the Kameido variety that was estimated to be two hundred years old way back in 1901, and its blooms were reported as being three feet long. Apart from the two hundred and twenty roses, including a variety called ‘Sir Samuel Wilson’ named after the second owner, there was a large collection of Japanese azaleas, a giant chestnut tree (possibly American), a Chinese lacquer tree, a Japanese cucumber tree or Magnolia obovata, a Sweet osmanthus that also hails from Japan and China, a Japanese lilac, Japanese holly, a jacaranda, gardenias and white and pink heath. The Calla lily Richardio Elliottiana was also grown, and it was said that it grew at the foot of the cross of ‘Our Saviour’ so that the leaves are speckled as a result of them having become stained with ‘His’ blood. A rather one-sided Golden elm is pictured as a small tree in The Australian Home Beautiful dated 1929, and one of the 4 Canary Island date palms planted around the garden, were all that remained now. There were only a few old black and white pictures of how it looked when it had Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Lambertiana’ dividing it into 3 areas or garden rooms, as pictured in a Grimwade photo of 1928, and there had been another newspaper article with pictures of the rose garden area in the Walled Garden back when the Currie’s owned Ercildoune. Before we started reinstating the pathways and re-planting the borders and new rose beds, we had even kept three young foals in there for safekeeping, and we’d been told that a bull had been kept in there by one of the previous owners too, so it became a multifunctional space. There were some bricks placed in the walls, between some of the granite blocks, and when I did some research, I found out that another Walled Garden at Croxeth Hall in Liverpool had openings on the inside of the walls where fires could be lit to heat the wall where fruit was growing against it, and that it also had some flues where the the air and smoke could escape. It has been said that the sweeter the fruit tastes, the more sun it needs, and some varieties suited to areas that become real sun traps are grapes, figs, apricots, nectarines, peaches, strawberries and kiwi fruit, and the Learmonth family was no doubt into growing many different varieties of fruit and vegetables, and even won first prize for their water melons (possibly grown with the help of their clever gardeners). It was reported that there were espaliered cherries, peach and figs still growing in there in 1901. We espaliered many fruit trees on the outside of the west facing granite wall too. The Curries had apparently grown over 1000 rose cuttings from old imported stock, and they no doubt benefitted by the extra warmth these walls created.

To make progress anywhere in the garden seemed to be at a snail’s pace in the beginning and patience definitely became a virtue. The area eventually came back to life with the planting of what seemed like hundreds more bulbs, perennials, roses, shrubs and trees. John arranged for a beautiful wooden gate to be built for the larger entrance, and had the local blacksmith Jamie Armstrong, build an imposing wrought iron arbour that he had designed. We felt that this was a better solution than reinstating the cypress hedges that are known to be susceptible to canker. Even though we couldn’t replicate those classic garden rooms, the iron arbour looked wonderful with climbing roses and laburnum starting to grow all over it, although the rosellas and cockatoos did take a liking to the juicy new growth. We sadly couldn’t replicate the large keel shaped conservatory that had been installed during the Wilson era. It must have looked amazing, and there is mention of another conservatory that was situated to the West of the Walled Garden, once badly damaged by the gardeners when they were trying to ‘carefully’ prune some nearby trees, a concrete pad is the only evidence of where it once stood. There Accounts Books also have an entry in regard to the cost of the repairs to the conservatory wall and furnace.

It really did feel like a war of attrition at times, as if nature was constantly trying to reclaim back what had been hers. We, including Neil for awhile, and Robin for a long while, were constantly attacking the tenacious and rampant self-seeding vegetation along with what seemed like millions of weeds. Scottish weeds mingled happily with Australian weeds, and Scotch thistles, the floral emblem of Scotland, were actually acknowledged as the first pest to be recognized here in Australia under South Australian legislation dated 1852. Other annoying species were the variegated thistles, sticky weed and nightshade weeds with their highly toxic black berries, and the neverending capeweed to contend with, just to name a few. It is good to learn about which weeds persist in the soil seed bank for many years as opposed to the ones with shorter lifespans but with multiple generations in the same growing season (as stated by Wikipedia). We were to find out that Periwinkle is a useful groundcover, even though it had sequestered a huge area around the front lake, but it was a good foil for the massive weed infestations, and just needed a trim every now and then to keep it off the pathways. The older trees became a double-edged sword too, with many of them looking very stressed and half-dead (or half-alive), during the drought years, and the huge planting of pines east of the lake began to turn brown, so that we ended up having quite a few removed and or professionally trimmed up. One lady had given us a photo of these pines saying that if you turned the picture on its side then you could see the Mother Mary and her child, and it did look a little like them, but the illusion appeared because of the curvature of the branches.

The other amazing artefact in the garden was the Palestinian Wellhead allegedly brought to Australia from the Holy Land. Heritage Victoria had informed us that this had been illegally whisked away from Ercildoune for four years, and we could only see the flattened circular area in the grass where it had once stood, just outside the Walled Garden. Legal action had been already undertaken by Heritage Victoria, and with John’s assistance, it ultimately found its way back from somewhere in Essendon to it’s now rightful place, thank goodness, and Heritage Victoria has now put a covenant in place stating that it is never ever to be removed. Aparently, Sir Samuel Wilson’s sons had bought it as a special gift for their father’s ‘favourite property’ and it was said to have remained hidden it in the hold of a sailing ship for two years before it made its way to Australia and it arrived by bullock wagon from Geelong. They didn’t get off scot-free for their troubles and they faced a seven year court case in London after which they were told to return the ‘font’ or pay the substantial fine of £63,000 by the Egyptian Government, not only for taking it illegaly, but for trespassing on consecrated ground (The Argus August 28, 1935 page 13). I also found an entry in one of the account books dated 1905 listing railway fees for a Venetian Wellhead, so that is a bit of a mystery too. It used to have an old sign on it saying that it had once been a baptismal font, and one lady told me at an Open Garden Day that Jesus had even drunk water from it, and all of these comments certainly added to its mystery. We did try to have its age verified by an expert in the field, but that idea hit a brick wall, so its real age remains a true mystery.

Our time at Ercildoune always seemed to feel a bit like two steps forward, and one step back, but in the end we could be proud of what was achieved there, and most Sunday nights we would return to Melbourne, with John dictating to me the latest list of jobs that needed doing, whilst I contemplated what to do next in the garden. It was lovely to finally see the garden growing and not being fried by the sun or drowned, but it still had a long way to reach that level of maturity where it looked like it belonged, but sadly we couldn’t stay there to see it all come to fruition. The Open Garden Information kindly stated: “Saved from dereliction by the current owners, who are intent on recapturing a bygone era with the addition of their own landscaping ideas to compliment this amazing old homestead. Visiting will leave lasting memories”. Some of our the mass plantings included the planting of 250 Shiraz and 250 Chardonnary vines, with our first vintage being made in 2009, 500 Australian natives, around 500 roses, 100’s of lavenders and assorted box hedging, 200 Osage orange trees, 100 fruit trees, and a copse of 50 river She-oaks, after we’d seen them in a copse near the Etihad Stadium in Docklands, Melbourne. They reminded me of when we used to go there nearly every week and watch the Saints play, and they even reached a few Grand Finals. Of course, it was not to be.

Stories about Ercildoune during our ownership were published in Country Estates of Australia (2007) with a special thankyou by the author at the end acknowledging the quality of my pikelets, Gardens of the Goldfields: A Central Victorian Sojourn (2010), The Australian House and Garden Magazine (2010) Great Australian Gardens – House and Garden (2015) and pictures of the property have even made it on to Pinterest. We nearly made it on to Better Homes and Gardens, but I kept delaying meeting up with them as the garden always looked parched and in desperate need of a few months of constant rain, just like everyone else’s did! The monumental floodproofing works and sinking a bore were all well and above over-and-above what we expected to have to do. John did enjoy buying and using all of the large equipment that included a tipper truck, front-end loader, an ex-council chipper truck that was handy for making tonnes of mulch, an excavator and a hay baler, and I did enjoy learning to drive the tractor myself in order to help distribute the neverending piles of mulch although nothing much seems to suppress such rampant weed growth. Robin did put thick piles of newspaper under many of the new garden areas and we put weed barrier mats around the base of newly planted trees, and all that helped a fair bit, at least maybe psychologically.

There is a film called ‘The Money Pit,’ and that’s what Ercildoune became. John kept milkman’s hours by leaving at 4.15 a.m. in the dark just to beat the crazy peak-hour traffic, and he arrived home in the dark, depending on the season, around 8pm. Pretty challenging when you spend most of your life in a windowless office under fluorescent lights. He clocked up thousands of kilometres of course along the Western Highway to Melbourne in our fifteen years of ownership. As ‘Caretakers of History,’ as Heritage Victoria liked to call people who own these important slices of Australian history, we managed to meet other such like-minded people of course, and had an interesting visit to Longerenong Homestead (c. 1862) near Horsham in order to meet the owners taking on the challenging renovation there. They had asked Heritage Victoria to arrange a bit of a think-tank with other owners in a similar position, in order to provide a bit more information to people who owned Heritage listed properties on how to go about things.

We did meet many lovely and interesting people over the years though, including a former Prime Minister and his wife, the 27th Governor of Victoria, and a famous History Professor whose wife was doing a story on Dame Nellie Melba, just to name a few. We never did get to visit the magnificent Rupertswood Mansion (c. 1874), but the owner kindly forwarded us a copy of a note from Dame Nellie that he had in his possession that she had written on Ercildoune letterhead. A Scottish Lord even asked if he could nominate Ercildoune as his Australian residence, and said Scottish Lord was even prepared to come do some work around the place in return. Ercildoune had been leased to many members of the upper-class over the years, including a Scottish noblewoman in 1907, at a time when it was being run by some of the Wilson sons as Trustees.

Other visits were by a group of our second son’s friends who wanted to camp up in the hills in order to undertake a variety of activities as part of their Duke of Edinburgh badge. We also allowed a film crew to shoot some scenes of a horror movie that was called Damned by Dawn at Ercildoune. They stayed at the nearby Burrumbeet Caravan park, and we allowed them access to the property for filming and didn’t charge a cent, in order to support Australian film making. The occasion of our eldest son’s wedding was of course one of the highlights during our period of ownership. The wedding took place in the Walled Garden on a rather wintry November day, and a marquee had to be erected rather last minute in time for the ceremony, as it the day started off so cold and wet, but luckily the sun decided to make an appearance in the afternoon. Another special event happened on the 2nd March 2009 when members of the Australian Learmonth family and the Russian Lermontov family who were related to the Learmonth’s of Scotland, came to visit. Three silver birches were planted along with 3 brass plaques and one plaque read –

This copse of Silver Birches symbolizes the incredible determination of the Scots, but notably the Learmonths, who migrated to many far away lands including Australia, Russia and the USA. The family led in the pastoral settlement of Victoria, and also established one of the most famous sheep studs in Australia here at Ercildoune. Many of the Russian and Australian members of this incredible family gathered here on the 2nd March 2009.

Mikhail and Elena Lermontov also planted a tree to commemorate the Lermontov Heritage Association of Russia and I received a signed copy of a book that was published in 2011 called ‘Learmonth-Lermontov’ – A history of the name and families by Tatiana Molchanova (Ph.D in Biological Sciences, “Hematological Scientific Center” and “Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology”, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow. BS, Chemist (Chemistry of the Biologically Active Natural Compounds), Institute of Fine Chemical Technology, Moscow) and Rex Learmonth. They also sent a copy of this book to The Queen and her Lady-In-Waiting replied on behalf of The Queen in a letter with the Balmoral Castle Crest dated 12th September 2008 –

“The Queen wishes me to write and thank you all for the letter and the books which you have kindly sent to Her Majesty. The Queen was pleased to hear from you and thought it was kind of you to send the volumes which you have so extensively researched and recently published on the subject of the families of the Learmonths and Lermonotovs and their connection throughout the years. I am to thank you all once again for this thoughtful gift and for writing as you did which, together with your good wishes, Her Majesty greatly appreciates”.

The Russian version of the book was published in Moscow in 2008 and received the National Prize for that year in the field of ‘Genealogical Studies, Memory’ which was presented to Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov.

In the end we managed to tackle ‘nearly’ every job listed in the Conservation Plan. We owe thanks to a great many people, including the builder/carpenters, painters, groundsmen/gardeners, arborists, plumbers/electricians, roofer/renderers, the excavation workers. So thankyou Steve, Kelvin, Charlie, Neil, and the irrepressible Ted, his son Michael, and the creative brickee Peter, and we would like to give a really special thank you to Dianne Gow of course. An extra big thanks to Robin Hill, the tireless groundsman and master of many things, including mowing, whipper-snipping, spraying, pruning, clearing excess vegetation in every corner of the property, and in 2020, he reached a special milestone of having worked 20 years at Ercildoune. We would also like to acknowledge our wonderful neighbours over the road, Leo and Shirley, and thank them for their kindness they showed towards us. Leo has sadly since passed away but told us many stories about his family’s association with Ercildoune including how his father used to lie under the window and listen to Dame Nellie singing. He has a newspaper article about him standing on a raised area on Ercildoune Road in order to get a glimpse of the Duke of Gloucester. He also acted as a part-time chauffeur to Lady Currie and we will always remember his wife Shirley’s lovely sponge cakes.

I had said that when John ever retired, that he would be tempted to develop Ercildoune into a golf course, or that it will at least start looking like a golf course because he is such a perfectionist. As we had to keep employing people to keep the place up to a certain standard, I thought it was a good idea to let other people enjoy all of the hard work and expense, so it was wonderful to wander around a garden with all of the visitors from the various Garden Clubs, Vintage Car Clubs, Probus groups and the local history society, and quite a few people were also in touch who had a connection to the Learmonth, Wilson and Currie families. They usually had some interesting stories to tell and we thankfully received some great photos.

When we first purchased Ercildoune, I’d ventured into the State Library of Victoria and armed myself with spools of newspapers articles and was quite excited to see pictures of the olden days and how it used to look. I have gone off on so many tangents though, thereby learning so much about a myriad of subjects that include a camembert eating eel when doing some research on eels. I have now found out so many more extra snippets of interesting information that I now have many folders of relevant (and irrelevant) information pertaining to Ercildoune. It has been a challenging and time-consuming task sifting through all of the online newspaper articles associated with the name Ercildoune and its more famous owners that are available Trove that is a collaboration between the National Library of Australia and hundreds of partner organizations around Australia and it is a free faceted search engine that is capable of accessing around 90 million items. If you type the name Thomas Learmonth into the search engine, over 100,00 entries come up, but obviously not all to do with the pioneering owner of the property. There is a former National Bank (c1876) named Ercildoune that is situated in Footscray and another rural property of the same name in New South Wales. It is also the name of a hamlet in Pennsylvania, USA, and the name of a property in the Brittsdown district of Cape Colony, South Africa that was formerly called Kareeboschpan. A doctor, Sir William Thomas Smartt, a family friend of Sir Samuel Wilson renamed his property in South Africa “Ercildoune” as he was so impressed by his visit to Ercildoune in 1879. He also became a leading sheep farmer who later became a Minister for Agriculture, and he went on to become a South African politician and founder and leader of the Unionist Party. There was also a racehorse called Ercildoune and there was coursing event and a horse race that were both named the Ercildoune Stakes. Then there are quite a few different spelling of names and Ercildoun has had many variations as some names have been anglicized over time from their original spelling. Borrumbeet was first spelt with an ‘o’ later becoming Burrumbeet, Boninyong, also with an ‘o’ becoming Buninyong, and even Ballarat was once spelt Bolorat.

One of my favourite articles was when the Learmonths had all of their employees and families there to celebrate New Year’s Eve in 1871. I just wonder if some members of the family would have stayed at Ercildoune if they hadn’t have lost that Court Case in such an emphatic way, but they had to meet so many challenges including dealing with bushrangers, had stock and equipment stolen on numerous occasions, had fire deliberately lit on their property, suffered through terrible droughts, floods and bushfires. Maybe it was the straw that broke the camel’s back – but who will ever know really why they sold up and left and it would have been hard for them to say goodbye to Australia and all of the friends they had made here. And they had receive quite a few negative responses from people over the years mainly through ‘envy or malice’ with some believing that they had been favoured in the way they obtained their huge tracts of land, or some complaining that they were often absentee squatters, as sometimes the more successful squatters appointed an overseer or manager to make sure things ran smoothly when they made visits to their home country. Their ability to top the markets and win nearly every first prize in the show ring with their superior stock certainly irked some members of the community too, but on some occasions, the Learmonth’s even handed back a prize they had won too many, in order for someone else to be given a chance.

From what I’ve read, virtually every old Western District squatting family of Scottish descent was Presbyterian, a religion that originated primarily in Scotland, and nearly every family of English descent were Anglican. The brothers were very religious and also believed in giving away a percentage of their earnings, and a clause in Andrew’s Will mentions that 10% of the income from his Estate be put into a separate tithe account so that they could continue to support his various charities, and during their time in Australia, the brothers appeared to donate very generously to nearly all of the local causes that they felt deserved their financial assistance. It surely would have challenging having over 100 employees and their families living on their property. Others appreciate that they did make a remarkable contribution to the wool industry, agriculture, education, religious and general community life and their wives would have been making sacrifices along the way, especially in regard to the challenges of childbirth and rearing young children in those early years. Later on, it became more problematic as schooling in Australia left a lot to be desired compared with Scotland that was spoilt for choice in having fifteen Universities, with the University of St. Andrews being the oldest (c.1413), and Melbourne University wasn’t in existence until 1853.

Most newspaper articles stated that they were selling Ercildoune and returning to England, but they had been building another Homestead at Groongal near Hay well before they sold Ercildoune and had also invested in some Queensland sheep country too. Groongal started off as another huge tract of land being 310,000 acres in size and that had been divided up between the brothers by each of them drawing their portion randomly out of a hat. Thomas took his rightful place back at Park Hall, but another Thomas Livingstone Learmonth, one of the younger descendants, sold the Park Hall estate in 1921 and that ended the family’s involvement after some 274 years. Thomas stated in one of his letters that ‘they would never have been as successful in their home country as he was wholly unable to cope with superior talent and energy of his coevals in the Old Country.’ That says a lot about how smart the people were back in his own country must have been and important too as indicated by his statement that ‘It is good for man to bear the yoke in his youth’. According to Reminiscences of a relation called Fred Macrae, he states that they had spent some time in Melbourne in April 1837 and way back then had found it a wicked city and life there very distasteful, so they took all their goods and chattels and moved up country. He also tells of their grandfather buying a small piece of ground in Melbourne for £10 which he later sold for £50 and in 1900 when Fred was a boy, he saw in a newspaper that the same land, now with a building called the Equitable on it, had sold for £2 million. He said to his grandfather that it might have been good to have kept that land, to which his grandfather replied: “Man does not live by bread alone”. He also mentioned how the brothers had to work very hard for a number of years and how frequently the climate just about beat them, but they built up a very fine flock of sheep and together with Captain MacArthur, who acknowledged it, founded the great sheep and wool industry on which the country greatly depends. They must have brought out merinos as well, though MacArthur is generally all of the credit. At least they received the credit for creating a breed of sheep that could produce wool that could spin longer than any other wool in the world in a time frame of around 50 years.

There are so many shipwrecks strewn around the coast of Australia and there are around 638 known shipwrecks around Victoria’s coastline, some due to the unpredictable weather, human error and even foul play. Mathew Flinders said that he’d seldom seen a more fearful section of coastline when referring to the 130 kilometre stretch between Moonlight Head and Cape Otway that is now known as the Shipwreck Coast. Even at the thought of taking months between countries, and with the odds stacked against them, it is amazing how many people were keen to start anew and travel to far-flung Australia, as there a distance of approximately 17,000 kilometres (or 10,000 miles) between Melbourne and London. There were quite a few choices in regard to the type of ship that they could sail on that originally included clippers, schooners, barques, brigs, ketches, sloops, fully rigged ships. Wikipedia states that the British Government began transporting convicts overseas to American colonies in the early 18th century. Robert Huges in his book The Fatal Shore, states that “the population of England and Wales, which had remained steady at 6 million from 1700 to 1740, began rising considerably after 1740, and by the time of the American Revolution, London was overcrowded, filled with the unemployed, and flooded with cheap gin. Poverty, social injustice, child labour, harsh and dirty living conditions and long working hours were prevalent in 19th century Britain.” Seeking to pre-empt the French colonial empire from expanding into the area, and as British prisons had become overcrowded, England set up penal colonies in Australia in order to send over convicts in huge ships called hulks, with the majority being transported for petty crime, such as stealing a loaf of bread in order to feed a starving family, and about 162,000 convicts were transported from Britain and Ireland to Australia between 1788 and 1868. One in seven convicts were women and the youngest female convict was called Mary Wade, and she was only thirteen years old when she was sent to Australia for stealing a cotton frock, linen tippet and a cap from another younger child, just eight years old at the time of the offence. She had initially been sentenced to hang, so it was lucky that her sentence, along with all the women on death row at the time, was commuted to penal transportation part of the celebration of King George III beng cured of an ‘unnamed madness’ that was possibly dementia. Many of these convicts went on to make a great success of their lives, and their new country began to flourish under their collective willingness to ‘give it a go’ as they say here in Australia. Many failed too, having suffered from any number of terrible accidents, and I can’t even imagine how the women coped with the voyage, let along with giving birth and then raising their large families out in the middle of nowhere without the comforts and companionship they had once known. They had to deal with Australia’s wildlife that is a little more challenging compared with back where they came from in the United Kingdom. Australia has some of the worst poisonous snakes and spiders, including the possibility of finding a redback under the toilet seat scenario, and it would have been nerve racking in summer when children were playing outside without the snake bite antivenom that is usually on-hand today. Wikipedia even states that it is now considered by many Australians a cause for celebration to find a convict in our lineage and almost 20% of modern Australians, in addition to 2 million Britons, are descended from transported convicts.

Niel Black (1804-1880), another of the well-known Scottish pioneering pastoralists who set up a company called Niel Black and Co., arrived in Adelaide in 1839 to investiage what pastoral prospects were there and then checked out Sydney, but settled on Melbourne because he thought it ‘a Scottish settlement’ and he settled on a 43,520 acre property called Weeraweeroit near Lake Terang that he understandbly renamed Glenormiston. He also became known as one of the most successful stock breeders of his time, establishing pedigreed Cotswold and merino flocks and founding a Shorthorn stud that would help lay the foundations of the most famous of present-day Australian cattlestuds at the property that he had pulled out of a hat called Mount Noorat. One of his partners in this venture was the first cousin of future British prime minister William Gladstone who served in four separate terms. Niel Black became a member for the Western Province and held a seat continuously until his death. He was a prolific letter writer and noted down many interesting observations in his journals. He had brought men out under the bounty emigration scheme and said that the itinerant labour force were a set of devils incarnate. He said that some bachelors would dine on tea, damper and mutton chops three times a day. Children could also earn wages from as young as the age of eight, especially the children of the shepherds or ploughmen and making money was the prime objective and returning to England was the ultimate prize. Prince Alfred visited him at Glenormiston where Black had the verandah covered in to make the place complete for a large corrobery. The Australian Dictionary of Biography states that he was ‘shrewd, righteous, proud, hard working and thrifty, typical of many of the successful Scottish immigrants of the time. Generous to those he thought deserving, he never ceased to denounce sloth and shiftlessness in others. He believed that the headlong progress of democracy would finally lead to anarchy and communism. He contributed generously but unostentatiously to the relief of distress”. The Age in an article dated 22 December 1937 stated that the bluestone Presbyterian Church was erected by the Black family in 1883 and it was built on the same principle as the famous Lansdowne church of Glasgow. “By their work in subdividing the great areas they have held, the Black family have earned the right to be known as amongst the first and most long-sighted of the practitioners of closer settlement”. He is listed at 198 in The All-Time Australian 200 Rich List (2004) leaving an estate worth 0.188% of the GDP = $1.35 billion. One of his sons owned Dalvui that was and still is, one of the show places of the Western District.

Some say the Scottish succeeded so well in establishing themselves in this country because of the hard and tenacious characteristics inherent in them, and I would have thought that their religious beliefs also played a part. Thomas died at 85 years of age and outlived his brother Somerville by some 25 years. He stated in his Will that he wanted his funeral conducted with the utmost simplicity, and for the smallest expense possible. His is buried in the family lair at Warriston Cemetery, and his gravestone aparently reads that he was ‘a sinner saved’. The Learmonth legacy will live on with their surname being used to name the town that was the place where they originally ran sheep in the surrounding foothills and A.S. Kenyon described Thomas Livingstone-Learmonth as the ‘godfather’ of that town that once a very busy and prosperous town having 6 hotels, 4 blacksmiths making farm implements, 4 stores, 2 bakeries and saddlery shops. The local government office headquarters of the Shire of Ballarat were originally located there. The nearby lake is also named after them and is still used for all types of water sports in the good rainfall seasons. A major road from Burrumbeet into Ballarat is called Learmonth Road and there is also a Learmonth Street in Buninyong, the town where they first established themselves. It is located 125 kilometres north-west of Melbourne and lays claim of being one of Victoria’s first inland township, along with Kilmore. When the period of the wealthy squattocracy had passed, Ercildoune was carved up into many farms and as well as Learmonth, the towns of Waubra and Burrumbeet were created.

SOME HISTORY OF KNIGHTS, ROYAL CONNECTIONS, AND SADLY A COUPLE OF BEHEADINGS

“The feast was spread in Ercildoune,
In Learmont’s high and ancient hall;
And there were knights of great renown,
And ladies laced in pall.”

The Learmonth name is found in many ancient manuscripts where some of the Learmonth’s were listed as knights, including Lord William Livingston of Callendar born in 1475Sir John Learmonth of Balcomie born 1625 and Sir James Learmonth of Balcomie born 1670. Charles Learmonth born 1744 was noted as a sometime merchant in Edinburgh, and thereafter Lieutenant on board the ship Rising Sun belonging to the Company of Scotland. He was trading to Africa and the Indies, and the husband of Mrs. Colville Adam Livingstone Learmonth of their ancestral property Park Hall. Members of the Livingston family were raised to the peerage and the 1st Earl of Linlithgow and his wife Lady Eleanor, daughter of Andrew Hay, 8th Earl of Erroll, were entrusted by King James VI & I with the upbringing and education of his daughter Princess Elizabeth, who spent her early childhood at the Callendar House before moving to England and she later became Queen of Bohemia and Electress Palatine. There was an Earl of Callendar (1641) and an Earl of Newburgh (1660) and they all played an important part in the history of the area, but their hold on the lands came to an abrupt end in the 18th century when James Livingston, 5th Earl of Linlithgow and 4th Earl of Callander, was forced into exile abroad because he had sided with the “Old Pretender”, son of King James II of England (James VII of Scotland) in the Jacobite Rising of 1715. The Callendar Estates were forfeited by the York Buildings Company, and they leased the house back to the Earl’s daughter, Lady Anne Livingston, from 1724. Lady Anne gave hospitality to Bonnie Prince Charlie before the Battle of Falkirk in 1746, but after his defeat at Culloden, Lady Anne’s husband, the Earl of Kilmarnock, William Boyd, was beheaded for treason.

Some Royal Connections: The research by Tatiana Molchanova and Rex Learmonth states that the mother of the Scottish martyr George Wishart, (1513-1546) was a member of the Fife Learmonth family, who eventually became relatives of the Scottish Monarchy through their marriages. Alexander, 5th Lord Livingstone (1500-1553) was guardian of Mary, Queen of Scots, during her childhood and the children of Sir George Learmonth of Balcomie (1525-1585) were the fourth cousins of Mary Queen of Scots. The marriage agreement between Mary and the French Dauphin was signed at Callendar House. Sir John Learmonth of Balcomie (1560-1625) was Lady Diana’s twelfth-Great Grandfather. Other famous Learmonths include Sir James Learmonth (1895-1967) who was called the father of modern neurosurgery and he was a personal doctor to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II during their visits to Scotland, and the Scottish composer George Learmonth Drysdale (1866-1909) who was called the Scottish Grieg. This combined Russian and Australian research was undertaken to shed more light on the Lermontov connection to the Learmonth family, and the Russian Lermontov family are officially the first Russian family of Scottish origins who now have their own registered tartan.

We had a lovely visit by some of these Russian descendants at Ercildoune on a really hot day, along with many members of the Australian Learmonth family, and planted silver birch trees with accompanying brass plaques to commemorate this special occasion. As for the Livingston, (now spelt without an ‘e’) branch of the family, Sir Andrew de Livingston, knight and noblemen, and Sheriff of Lanark in 1296, was one of the Scottish knights summoned by King Edward I in 1297 to attend his expedition to Flanders. He was killed the same year by the forces led by the great Scottish hero, Sir William Wallace. In a power struggle for control over James II who was still just a boy, he and Sir William Chrichton, Governor of Edinburgh Castle, allegedly had William, described as a young, headstrong and powerful noble, and the 6th Earl of Douglas, and his brother David, executed at the infamous Black Dinner of 1440, as they were convinced that they had become enemies of the throne. One story is that they were lured to Edinburgh Castle for a celebratory banquet of reconciliation, and a head of a black bull was brought into the hall at the end of the feast. Under Scottish custom, this formality presaged the death of the principal guests at a dinner. James II is alleged to have pleaded for the lives of his new friends to be spared, but in one report, they were (disturblingly) beheaded in front of the ten-year-old king. When James II came of age, and proceeded to establish control over the nobles, he aparently felt considerable attachment to his Livingston guardians. While Livingston’s, Douglas’s and others were arrested and charged with high treason and executed, Sir Alexander Livingston and his son Sir James were released after a very brief imprisonment, with Sir James being raised by James II to the peerage of Scotland as the 1st Lord Livingston of Callendar in 1454. Then following the demise of William, 6th Earl of Douglas and his brother, his great uncle James, known as James the Gross became the 7th Earl of Douglas after having connived at the execution of his nephew, thus inheriting the earldom and the Douglas Estates.

Information from the My Clan: Learmonth is a name arising from lands in Berwickshire and the earliest family ‘of note,’ were the Learmonth’s of Ercildoun in the Merse, to which family Anderson attributes the early Scottish poet, Thomas the Rhymer. His prophecies were published in 1691. The family married into the Dairsies of Fife and thereby established the principal line of the family in that country. Sir James Learmonth of Dairsie was Master to the Household of James V, and provost of St. Andrews in 1446. The family also acquired the lands of Balcomie in Fife, and in 1604, Sir James Learmonth of Balcomie was one of the commissioners appointed to consider a possible political union with England. Alexander Learmonth was a prosperous merchant in Edinburgh and Leith. The family acquired the estate of Park Hall in the early nineteenth century. They latterly assumed the compound surname of Livingston-Learmonth, (Livingston spelt with, and without the ‘e’), but still used the ancient Learmonth arms. There is still a substantial residential district of Edinburgh named after this family. (Provost = mayor.)

The historical town of St. Andrews is located on the east coast of Fife. It is well known for one of the most ancient Universities in Europe, and as the home of golf. King James VI of Scotland described Fife as a ‘beggar’s mantle fringed with gold’ – the golden fringe being the coast and its chain of little ports with their thriving fishing fleets and rich trading links with the Low Countries, that was said to be ironic given the much later development of farming on some of Scotland’s richest soil, and the minerals, notably coal, underneath. Wool, linen, coal and salt were all traded.

The Armorial Bearings of the Livingstone Learmonths of Parkhall, as registered in the Lyon Office, were: –

ARMS – Quarterly, first and fourth, Or, on a chevron, sable, three lozenges of the first, for Learmonth; second and third, Argent, a mascle, azure, between three gillyflowers slipped, gules, within a double tressure flory counterflory, vert, for Livingstone; all within a bordure, azure.

CRESTS – On the dexter side, a dove holding in his beak an olive branch, proper, for Learmonth. On the sinister side a dexter hand grasping a sabre proper for Livingstone.

MOTTOES – Dum spiro, spero, for Learmonth – While I breath I hope uncovered on the top of the arch in the entrance hallway at Ercildoune. Si possim, for Livingstone = If I may

Thomas the Rhymer

When the Earls of March and the Dunbar’s were the chief baronial families, the Learmonth’s family ancient seat, was Rhymer’s Tower (1210- to 1297) in Earlston, but it is believed to stand on the site of the castle originally built by Thomas Learmont when the town was called Erceldoune. Thomas was also known as the 13th century Scottish laird, reputed prophet and Scotland’s earliest poet and romancist, Thomas the Rhymer. Folklore states he was carried off by the Queen of Elfland and returned having gained the gift of prophecy as well as the inability to tell a lie. Many of his prophecies came to fruition and won him wide celebrity, but the Scottish do love their folklore and are extremely superstitious at times, with quite a few stories interwoven with certain characters from a fairy kingdom. Thomas the Rhymer was said to have become more famous than any other prophet of the day, including Merlin and was also known as ‘Thomas de Ercildounson, son and heir of Thome Rymour de Ercildoun.”

The Peerage Britain

Thomas Livingstone-Learmonth Senior

The Peerage website is a genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe, and is being put together by a man who says it’s the goal of the website to capture in one place all of the members of the inter-connected families of the British peerage. Aparently this site is the result of around 17 years of work by one, self-described as “somewhat eccentric” person collating this information…Darryl.

The acquisition of the Livingstone surname came through the Mitchell family of Craigends. Alexander recorded arms in 1719 as ‘Mitchell of Mitchell’ and his son by the heiress of Livingstone of Parkhall, assumed his mother’s surname and followed in that inheritance. Sir Thomas Livingston Mitchell was a scion of this family. (*In 1882 he gifted the hall to The Salvation Army on the condition that it was used for worship.)

Thomas had aparently gone to the West Indies to manage a sugar estate when he was a young man. The Australian Dictionary of Biography states that he – ‘came from India, no doubt influenced by Captain Charles Swanston and the George Mercer connexion, (Captain Swanston had persuaded Mercer to invest in Van Diemen’s Land buying a property called ‘Lovely Banks’ near Oatlands) to Van Diemen’s Land, where by May 1835 he was a merchant in Hobart Town.’ Scottish immigration to India began with the union of Scotland with England in 1707 to create the United Kingdom. Under the deal, Scotland’s landed families gained access to the East India Company, and gradually became its dominant force and Scots went to India as jute traders, teachers and writers, with almost half of the East India Company writer’s being Scottish by 1771. The first three Governor-Generals of India were Scots, and when Jerry Dundas became President of the Board of Control in 1784, he ‘Scoticised’ India, and through his agencies, the Scots came to dominate the activities of the East India Company. By 1792, Scots made up one in nine East India Company civil servants, six in eleven common soldiers, and one in three officers and by 1813, nineteen of Calcutta’s private merchant houses were dominated by them, and from 1830 they became involved as general merchants with Indian interests. Scots began to export jute, tea, timber, coal, sugar and indigo as well as cotton and by 1880, with the help of Scottish entrepreneurs, India overtook China as leaders of tea distribution. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Scots founded some of the first modern colleges in India and these acted as a ‘cultural conduit’ through which Enlightenment values came to permeate Indian society.

The acting Surveyor-General, Charles Grimes, in 1803, made the first detailed survey of Port Phillip and the first European settlement was attempted under Lieutenant Governor David Collins at Sullivan Bay, Sorrento. But finding the conditions too harsh, he decided to travel to Hobart, Tasmania and settle there, as did the Learmonth family, who lived at Green Ponds, now Kempton, until the brothers were sent by their father to find land for their sheep breeding enterprise in Port Phillip. It is recorded that they were possessed of family capital, well connected and well educated.

When googling Kempton, it states that the district was first settled by Europeans in 1814 and was known as Green Ponds – a name which is still retained as the local municipality. In 1816, Anthony Fenn Kemp, a thoroughly unpleasant and despotic soldier-merchant, who seems to have spent most of his life fighting with governors and trying to manipulate the political scene in both New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land settled in the district. Kemp arrived in Australia in 1795 and served two years at Norfolk Island as a commissioned ensign in the New South Wales Corp. In 1799 he established a shop on the corner of King and Georges Streets in Sydney where he managed, due to his privileged position as treasurer of the Committee of Paymastership, to sell goods to his fellow soldiers at huge profits. The Wilmot Arms Inn (18440 in the Main Road was built by convict and operated as a licensed inn until 1897. It is said that the proprietor suddenly got religion and stopped making alcohol and fed all his spirits to the pigs.

The first reported sighting of Tasmania by a European was in 1865 by the Dutch explorer Able Tasman who named the island Anthoonij van Diemenslandt, after his sponsor, the Governor of the Dutch East Indies, Anthony van Diemen. The second settlement, under Captain David Collins, became known as Hobart Town or Hobarton, later shortened to Hobart, after the British Colonial Secretary of the time Lord Hobart. The first settlement was by the British at Risdon Cove in 1803, by a small party sent from Sydney, under Lt. John Bowen for the purpose of preventing the French from claiming the island. When the British Government claimed New South Wales as a British territory in 1788, it declared Australia terra nullius (unoccupied land) and vested all land in the Crown. Initially the Governor was instructed to set aside some lands for public purposes and to make grants of land to Government officials and men of capital. The squatters had been described William Westgarth as having ‘a cormorant capacity for land’ and in 1844 there were only four squatters occupying 7.7 million acres and owning 1.2 million sheep. Eventually the British government asked the squatters to pay £10 per annum as a lease on their runs. By the 1840’s the squatters wanted security over their holdings and were able to purchase 320 acres, their pre-emptive right, for £1 an acre. When gold was discovered the miners revolted against the hated gold licence, which was huge in comparison to the squatters’ annual licence fee, and their anger culminated in the Eureka Stockade of December 1854, when 30 miners died for their beliefs. The Government introduced a Miner’s Right and access to the land and for an annual payment of £1, they had the rights to dig for gold and build a home in what was called a Residence Area, thereby miners and their families began to settle the country towns of Central Victoria. Of course, if gold was discovered on Crown Land, the Government could confiscate it, so any finds were kept secret where possible. The 1860’s saw the Government pass a series of Selection Acts that allowed the public to buy land to farm, and another 10 million acres of the best land also passed into the hands of the squatters, thereby employing many people from the area. The Learmonth Brothers also managed to provide schooling and religious education to their employee’s children. They grew wheat, English barley and oats, and sometime in the 1840’s built a two-storey flourmill, probably one of the first ones in the area and there are quite a few entries in their Diary about the problems they had in getting it to run properly.

Throughout 1837, the year Princess Victoria at only 18 years of age was to be crowned Queen of England, there had been a constant stream of traffic across the notoriously unpredictable body of water called Bass Strait from Tasmania to Victoria, a journey of 500 kilometres in length, and on occasion whole shipments of sheep were lost due to the stormy weather, overcrowding, lack of food and water. Pastoralists wanted to open up the new colony as the opportunities had reduced in VDL. Thomas and Somerville Learmonth first acted as agents for their father and eldest brother John and shipped 2000 ewes over and drove them up towards the head of the Barwon River where they formed the first of their stations. Most pioneer settlers were afraid to venture more then 25 miles inland because of the disappearance of the explorers Hesse and Gellibrand but were then worried that if they didn’t, then the Government could sell off their land. Eventually the Learmonth brothers ‘pushed up’ towards the Pyrenees and once they’d decided on their run, crude watch boxes were first built for the shepherds’ accommodation. There were no fences, just temporary ‘folds’ or corrals built with hurdles which the sheep were put into overnight in order to protect them from either being stolen, or from some of the more opportunistic four legged carnivors like dingos. According to Western District Footprints by J. L. Betheras – “Shearing sheds were a tarpaulin stretched over some poles, or maybe just a convenient shady tree. Wool-presses were worked by sheer manpower. Scab became rife and the over-succulent soil caused extensive foot-rot. The Western District men were noted for their horses, which were generally thoroughbreds.”

Major Mitchell had passed through the Ercildoune area in 1836. In August 1837, they were in the expedition that explored the country round Buninyong, then undertook a second expedition where they crossed the Wardy Yalloak and came across the dormant volcano that looked a lot like a sleeping elephant and so it was named Mount Elephant, and it is possibly the best known example of a breached scoria cone in Victoria and maybe even Australia. From Mount Elephant they struck across to Cloven Hills, then they crossed the Pirron Yalloak, and returned to Geelong. Undertaking a third expedition in January 1838, they travelled from Macedon over the Coliban to Mt. Alexander. They reached the Loddon, and, turning, crossed the site of Bendigo. From there they struck south-west till they reached the site of Ballarat. After leaving that spot a curious thing happened to the party. After a long march, they were without water at nightfall, and they could find none in the country about them. Some reports say that they it was the freezing weather that led to the naming of Mount Misery, whilst others say that they had run out of water, but from this point they struck back to the Barwon. As an outcome of these expeditions, the brothers removed their flocks from the Barwon to the Buninyong district that like Burrumbeet, was favoured with what seemed to be an abundant supply of spring water. In the end it was Ercildoun, that could support the greatest number of sheep and they had found some of the best pastures in Australia and that no doubt helped their vision to become a reality, as the British sheep breeds thrived in the cool climate and prolific nutritious pasture, an environment that was similar in the Ballarat region to that of the British Isles, more so than most other parts of Australia. They grew abundant amounts of wool of the highest quality. Buyers in every State of the Commonwealth of Australia set a high value upon the sheep bred and reared in this region and knew that they were well grown and healthy and there was a constant demand for the flock rams for fat lamb raising.

They became the first of several Scottish families to settle and influence the expansion of two towns and Buninyong’s transition to a village began with several employees of the Learmonth’s and with their permission, a store and eating-house were set up, and it was soon joined by a blacksmith and some sawyers and splitters. Hugh Anderson in Flowers of the Field, A History of Ripon Shire states that it was reported that Somerville Learmonth was engaging some families to be ‘sent out’ from their home country, and that he was ‘awfully particular’ and wanted to see all of the men, women and children and that he reprimanded the wives if they had dirty houses. If wives were suitable as cooks and hutkeepers, they received additional wages and a second ration. Many of these stations had many outbuildings and cottages added to them to accommodate all of the workers, and Warrock Homestead, also built by an intrepid Scot called George Robertson who hailed from Dundee and arrived in the colonies in 1843, this property originally had 57 mostly timber outbuildings, but now there are 36 classified out-buildings undergoing restoration. It is also where the Australian Kelpie evolved.

Thomas Senior ended up marrying three times, with Thomas and Somerville being his third and fourth born sons by his second wife, Christian Donald, a cousin of his first wife with the same name. They were born only eighteen months apart and would ultimately make the Learmonth name well-known throughout Australia and the world. Andrew, his sixth child, and seven years younger than Thomas, also joined the brothers at a later date. He was living in Van Diemen’s Land with his parents and brothers in 1835 and left in 1845 to serve in the East India Company’s arm at Bombay, now known as Mumbai. He was invalided out as lieutenant after five years service and he then joined his squatter brothers in Victoria.

Thomas Junior’s first marriage was to Louisa Valiant in 1856, and they had seven children although the first daughter Louisa sadly died at fifteen days old. Thomas had another four children with his second wife, Jane Reid, whom he married in 1879. His brother Somerville married his wife’s sister, Maria Reid, in 1860, and they went on to have six children. The eldest brother John married Anne Macwhirter and had nine children whilst youngest brother Andrew had six sons. Their children didn’t sit on their laurels either. Thomas Learmonth’s third son, Frederick Valiant Cotton Livingstone-Learmonth, embarked as a corporal with the 1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles and fought at Osfontein and Driefontein, after the outbreak of the South African War, and also took part in the advance to Pretoria. He saw action in the battle of Diamond Hill, and in the Orange Free State and Cape Colony. He was promoted to Lieutenant and awarded the Distinguished Service Order for excellence in the field and mentioned in dispatches. He became General Superintendent of the Australian Agricultural Co. in 1905 and a Manager of BHP, Newcastle. Two of Somerville’s sons also fought in the wars. Cecil gained the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy and gained the rank of Captain in the Manchester regiment. He fought in the Benin River Expedition in 1894, the Boer War and the first World War and discovered the North Nigerian tin-fields. Another son Maxwell also fought in the first World War and gained the rank of Major in the Irish Guards. Their daughter, Winifred, married Vice-Admiral Norman Palmer. Andrew’s sons also followed suit and five also fought for their country and his son Nigel was listed as wounded and missing in Gallipoli, Turkey. Most of them had been educated at Eton or Harrow, and even though they were favoured by having money and the best of education, they nearly all went off to war, some even going twice. Between the first two owners of Ercildoune, the Learmonth and Wilson families, I’ve come up with a total of twelve sons putting their hands up to fight for their country, with five of them paying the ultimate price, and it was probably a blessing that Sir Samuel had not lived to see it. Three of Thomas Senior’s daughters had married Major-Generals and the third owner, Major Henry Alan Currie, also went and fought in the trenches for four years.

Many esteemed visitors were entertained at Ercildoune over the years, including many members of the British Royal Family, Australian Prime Ministers and Government officials, and many other famous identities including Australia’s ‘first lady of opera,’ Dame Nellie Melba, pictured on the Australian $100 banknote, who was apparently hoping to recuperate in some warmer weather, as she said she hadn’t seen the sun in London for weeks. She was born Helen Mitchell, another surname associated with the Livingstone side of the family, but I am not sure if she is related. She leased the property for six months in 1907, and even had the hard-surfaced tennis court built east of the front lake. She was also the aunt of Gerald Patterson, one of Australia’s greatest ever tennis players, who had won three Grand Slam Tournaments including two Wimbledon Singles titles. He and Norman Brookes became the first Australians to win an American national tennis title when they won the American Doubles Championship of 1919. There are some interesting stories about her trying to mimic bird calls, and that she had trouble copying the Magpies, and would go up and sit near the fish breeding ponds to practice until she conquered their ‘quite musical warbling’. There was also a rumour that she fell down the cellar and consequently had it filled in, but we never find out where it was located and the contents of the Ercildoune wine cellar is mentioned in Sir Samuel Wilson’s Will.

Receiving news of any kind back then was extremely slow of course. The first overland mail service between Melbourne and Sydney began operating in December 1837. The distance from Edinburgh and Melbourne is over 16,000 kilometres, and the voyage took several months depending on the unpredictable weather conditions. Sometimes important news arrived weeks or months after the event, if it arrived at all, but almost every little snippet of news about anything or anyone was printed in the local newspapers. The Learmonth brothers even heard about their father’s death by mail. From the 1850’s to 1920’s, many people relied on the famous Cobb and Co. coaches to deliver mail and provide transport to the once isolated communities. There is a note in the Learmonth Diary by Louisa Learmonth mentioning Thomas writing letters in his wee writing room, and there is a letter dated 13th April 1859, from her –

My dearest Father and Mrs. Learmonth,

As I am trying by this mail to make up for some of my silence to so many relatives and friends, I must endeavor to send you a few lines. We were very sorry to hear by the last letters from home of your indisposition dear Father though thankful to find you were getting the better of it. How very kind you have been dear Mrs. Learmonth in constantly writing to us, your letters are always so interesting. I wish I could make mine equally so, but I am at all times but a bad correspondent and then we have to little here to write about. I forget whether Tom told you last herewith of our dear baby’s baptism on the 6th March and receiving the name of “Louisa Harriet”. God will I am sure rejoice with us that the dear wee thing is thriving very nicely, under the care of a wet nurse though, which I regretted very much being obliged to get for her. She is very intelligent, and good-tempered and entices all our servants as well to be fond of playing with her. Yesterday I accompanied Tom for the first time in about the last six or seven months, into Ballarat and enjoyed it very much. We made enquiries about getting baby vaccinated and I believe if the day after tomorrow is fine, we are to take her in for that purpose when we also take in our letter for home. The weather seems now beginning to break a little since the day before yesterday and not before the country needed it, for we have been threatened with great deaths from want of water. The Cockpit swamp that Tom and Andrew know, has this year so dried up that Fred walked across it the other day, but yesterday we observed a little water lying there. Tom is busy just now planning the improvements in the garden with the gardener who is a good, steady, hard working man. Will you tell Andrew that we heard lately that the poor silly daughter of our late gardener Duke was burnt to death not very long after they left us. We have also been busy planning as we thought very pretty and comfortable additions to the house, but have stuck fast frightened at the estimated cost of our improvements, but as the place has been drawn and the estimation made, Tom thinks it best to let these go home for his brothers to see and that they may so be something of a pride to them in estimating the expense. I dare say you remember that I used to teach the children of the Station until I became so very ill. My dear sister Josephine is most kind in managing them now for us, but it is a great tax upon her time and patience for the numbers are much increased, the new Storekeeper and Ploughman’s families being much larger than their predecessors with two or three very difficult children to manage among them. We are also now anxious to have some of the children of the Shepherds and Mrs. M…’s two boys from the Black Hill to receive education and all this would be much more than I’d undertake so we are waiting to see if Mrs. Perry can recommend us a good one. Our last Ploughman, Baldie, has gone to his farm and Tom and Andrew will perhaps be interested to hear that he has dug a well close to his hut and found water coming in from 7 feet and has now got down to solid rock at a depth of 20 feet and found two feet of standing water, this before the rain commenced the other day, during this late dry season. Tom joins me in sending much love to you both and our brothers, and he also begs me to say that he hopes to write to you dear Mrs. Learmonth by the next mail, not this, as I am writing.

Very affectionately yours, Louisa Learmonth.

Sadly, there aren’t many old photos in existence, and I guess that many of them were taken back with them to Scotland, so luckily the newspaper articles available here in Australia, help paint a picture of their lives, including the family births and deaths. We did get given a few over the years from people who had relatives connected with the property. Many stories about Ercildoune were published in most of the 200 Victorian newspapers that came in to existence prior to 1901, and it seemed that the Australian newspapers liked to report their every move, with concerned people even writing in letters questioning how the Learmonths amassed such great tracts of land in the first place, or how they managed to win so many first prizes at the various shows. But according to their Statement of Property dated 1 January 1855, they list numerous other properties, apart from ‘Borrumbeet’ and ‘Boninyong’, with one house listed as being let in Hobart Town, several being rented out in Geelong, along with a share they have in a Beach Unit, a total valuation of £96,143.9.2, if the figures are correct.

Australia’s population in 1830 was 70,039 people and there was a land boom along with economic highs, but the early-mid-1840’s experienced a fall in land values due to a slump in the price of Australian wool, wheat and livestock. Sheep that once provided fine wool for export to England, who experienced its own recession in 1839, were now being boiled down for tallow to make candles and soap. Free immigration was encouraged on the basis that newcomers would bring money and stimulate consumption and investment. Eventually rising wool prices brought returned prosperity and Victoria’s wool exports nudged £5,000,000. The discovery of gold in 1851 caused the influx of over half a million immigrants in a decade with one immigrant ship per week arriving in Port Phillip. In 1854 The Victorian Gold Discovery Committee wrote: “The discovery of the Victorian Goldfields has converted a remote dependency into a country of world wide fame; it has attracted a population, extraordinary in number, with unprecedented rapidity; it has enhanced the value of property to an enormous extent; it has made this the richest country in the world; and, in less than three years, it has done for this colony the work of an age, and made its impulses felt in the most distant regions of the earth.” According to Earth Resources, it was the discovery of gold in Ballarat in 1851, the year that coincided with the Learmonths selling their property at Buninyong, that resulted in Victoria’s gold boom and Ballarat was then recognized as probably the richest alluvial goldfield in the world at its peak between 1852 and 1853. They state that Victoria has produced two percent of all the gold mined in the world and was only eclipsed by Western Australia in the last few decades, where new technology has played a crucial role both in the discovery and extraction of gold.

The Learmonth brothers kept a detailed station diary that recorded the daily comings and goings and I’ve included some of their entries in amongst these newspaper articles. It states that the original run was 60,000 acres in size (90 square miles approximately), then held under Lease from the Crown, and the boundary was aparently marked by a plough furrow that ran from Mt. Buninyong to Lake Burrumbeet, then on to the Beaufort Ranges, then to Mt. Mitchell and back to the point of commencement. These measurements seemed to use the trees and other geographic landmarks to mark the boundaries, so many disputes arose accordingly, and I’d imagine it could have been quite disastrous if a bush fire went through, so the innovation of wire fencing would have been a blessing. By 1858, Thomas and Somerville Learmonth had purchased 20,973 acres for £75,000 and were Leasing 26,000 acres of Crown Land that was carrying 76 horses, 4,139 head of cattle and 9,622 sheep. There are many entries about employees absconding, or getting as drunk as fiddlers, or about the bullocks being lost. Some drunken bullock drivers were given up to the constables and after an appearance before Captain Fyans ended up spending four hours in stocks. But it was hard to stop them frequenting the inns during the occasional visit to Geelong, especially after they’d spent months in isolation in the bush, and many wouldn’t work at all without receving a daily quantity of rum that some employers were smart enough to water down.

Now I’ve hopefully exhausted all of the other resources at hand, I’ve made a somewhat comprehensive list of some of the newspaper articles that also help paint the picture of Ercildoune. Richard Twopenny noted in Town Life in Australia (1883) that Australia was essentially the land of newspapers. Nearly everyone, he said, can read, and nearly everybody as the leisure to do so… The proportion of the population who can afford to purchase and subscribe to newspapers is ten times as large as in England; hence the number of sheets issued is comparatively much greater. In 1962, Ken Inglis noted that “Australians are more intensely addicted to daily newspapers than almost all other people in the world… We buy more than 40 papers a day per 100 of population. Nearly 90 per cent of us usually read, or look at, a morning paper, and 70 per cent, an evening paper”.

Firstly, when the eleven vessels of the First Fleet of settlers reached New South Wales in January 1788, among the cargo aboard was a small second-hand printing press intended for printing general orders, regulations and official proclamations in the new penal settlement. Seven years went by before someone was found who could work the press. George Howe became the original editor, typesetter and printer, his profession before being transported to Australia for shoplifting in 1800. The Sydney Gazette (1803-1842) was Australia’s first newspaper and initially had the picture of a female figure seated on a bale surrounded by the words “Thus We Hope to Prosper” but later she was replaced by another picture representing the royal arms. It was initially printed as a single sheet, folded into four pages of foolscape size, with each page typeset in three columns and its mashead was a locally produce woodcut of Sydney. For six weeks from 1 January to 10 February 1827, it appeared daily, but the postal service could not accommodate this schedule. Howe also printed Australia’s first book New South Wales Standing Orders (1802) according to Wikipedia.

I found a post by Jonathan Auld’s dated 5 March, 2013 acknowledging the 210th birthday of Australia’s first newspaper. An introductory address by Howe appeared on the first page of the first issue and read:

“Innumerable as the Obstacles were which threatened to oppose our Undertaking, yet we are happy to affirm that they were not insurmountable, however difficult the task before us. The utility of a PAPER in the COLONY, as it must open a source of solid information, will we hope, be universally felt and acknowledged. We have courted the assistance of the INGENIOUS and INTELLIGENT: – We open no channel to Political Discussion, or Personal Animadversion: – Information is our only purpose; that accomplished, we shall consider that we have done our duty, in an exertion to merit the Approbation of the PUBLIC, and to secrure a liberal Patronage to the SYDNEY GAZETTE”.

Auld also added:

“Today, everyone can view these early newspapers through the National Library of Australia’s wonderful and revolutionary search service known as TROVE. Take time out and see what treasures you can find…”

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, MARCH 5, 1803.

General Orders. Excerpt. THE GOVERNOR having permitted to land 4000 Gallons of Spirits for the domestic use of the Inhabitants, from the Cape of Good Hope, it will be divided in the following proportion, viz.

For the Officers on the Civil Establishment, (including Superintendants and Storekeepers), 1000 Gallons ;
For Naval and Military Commissioned Officers, 1000 Gallons ;
For the Licensed People, 1000 Gallons ;
To be distributed to such Persons as the GOVERNOR may think proper to grant Permits to, 1000 Gallons.
The above to include the Civil and Military Officers at Norfolk Island.
By Command, & c. W.N. CHAPMAN, Sec. Government House, March, 4, 1803.

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser May, 11, 1806

General Orders. Excerpts – To supply the inhabitants with good Beer at not more than One Shilling per Gallon, and Small beer at Sixpence. Not to dispose of the Beer so brewed to particular individuals, but the distribution to be as general as possible. Not to sell, give, lend, or make any other use of the Malt he may make than for the purpose of brewing on his own premises.

Those under the Sentence of the Law who may be considered deserving of having the indulgence of a Ticket of Leave continued to them, are to appear respectively at the Secretary’s Office at Sydney, on Monday the 19th instant, at Eight o’clock in the Morning ; at Parramatta on Wednesday the 21st, at the Court House ; and at Hawkesbury on Friday the 23rd, at the Green Hills.

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser 24 November 1829

ENGLAND AND HER COLONIES.

The discouragement of colonization is certainly not the feeling of the great majority of the people of England, and it is equally certain that it is not the policy of this empire. Whatever may be the fate of the several British colonies at some future and distant period, it is something at least to have spread our laws and language, and moral character, over the most distant parts of the globe. The colonies that speak the language of Old England – that preserve her manners and her habits – will always be her best customer; and their surplus capital will always centre in the mother country.

The Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas.) 11 December 1829

SIR WALTER’S DILIGENCE.

The Edinburgh Library Journal, in a recent number – furnishes the following stupendous catalogue of Sir Walter Scott’s productions:

“Sir Walter, then Mr. Scott, first appeared before the public in 1799 (just thirty years go), as the translator of a tragedy from the German, called Goetz of Berlichingen with the Iron Hand. It was published in London anonymously, and has been little heard of since. In 1802, he published the Ministrelsy of the Scottish Border, with an Introduction and Notes, 2 vols. 8vo. In 1804, Sir Tristrem, a Romance, by Thomas of Ercildoune, with a Preliminary Dissertation and Glossary; in 1805, the Lay of the Last Minstrel; in 1806, Ballads and Lyrical Pieces; in 1808, Marmion – and the Works of John Dryden, in 18 vols. Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author. (*Sir Walter Scott was said to have revived the legend of Thomas the Rhymer.)

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW) 5 December 1829

Shipping Intelligence. Arrivals on the Ship Lotus from Swan River included Mr. John Learmonth. (*She was built in 1828 in Whitby, UK, 397 tonnes and sheathed with copper.)

The Sydney Herald (NSW) 8 August 1831

COMMERCIAL NEWS. Sydney General Trade List.
Compiled and Published under the Authority of Customs.
IMPORTS. July 26 CAMDEN (ship), 432 tons, Fulcher master, from London, J. F. Church & Co. agents; 108 male prisoners, and government stores.
MAID OF THE MILL (schooner); 14 tons, Mosman master, from Twofold Bay, J. Learmonth agent, 80 packets staves, 5 empty casks, 40 bundles hoops, 26 bundles hoop iron, 14 bars iron, C. Staples.
CURRENCY LASS (schooner), 90 tons, Buckell master, from New Zealand, H. Donnison agent, 20 tons flax, 5 loads spars, H. Donnsion.
GEORGIANA (ship), 403 tons, Thompson master, from London, G. Bunn agent, 180 male prisoners, and government stores
EXMOUTH (ship) 723 tons, Warren master, from London, W. Walker & Co. agents, 298 male prisoners, and government stores.
PALAMBAM (ship), 394 tons, Willis master, from the Cove of Cork, A. B. Spark agent, 114 female prisoners, 50 free girls, and government stores.
EXPORTS. FRIENDSHIP (schooner) 88 tons, Hastings master, for Launceston; 17 hearth stones, 5 packages 24 window cills, 12 grindstones, 12 planks cedar, 7 cases tobacco pipes, 10 casks, 3 cases oranges, 70 bags maize, 5 bags potatoes, 3 bundles fruit trees, 2 cases cheese, 18 casks beef, 30 tons coals, 1 keg tobacco, 3 cases soap, 16 horses, 1 gig, 1 case saddler, 1 truss blankets, 2 casks slops, 2 casks herrings, 8 casks hardware, 1 cask beer, 2 casks vinegar, 8 casks wine, 5 bags rice, 4 puncheons rum, and stores.
EAMONT (barque), 271 tons, Walmesley master, for London, 337 bales, 1 bag wool, 4,063 horns, 1,787 tips of horns, 3,024 hides, 222 bales flax, 110 casks sperm oil, 7 cases curiosities, 1 case tippets, 1 chest plate, 1 box bullion, and stores.
ELEANOR (barque), 301 tons, Cock master for Moreton Bay and Batavia, troops and stores. (*One of the more interesting cargos were two emus, who travelled on the John Bull, and were delivered to the then Governor-General of India (1813-21), the Marquess of Hastings: Francis Rawdon-Hastings, as a gift from the Scottish born Governor of New South Wales, Governor Macquarie.)

The Sydney Herald (NSW) 19 September 1833

Projected Departures. HARLEQUIN, 71 tons, Learmonth and Co. agents, 22nd instant.
Launceston ELIZABETH, 51 tons, Learmonth and Co. agents, 20th instant.
New Zealand – BYRON, 79 tons, Learmonth and Co. agents, 22nd instant.
Raiatea ULITEA, 75 tons, Learmonth and Co. agents, 22nd instant.
Spirits and Tobacco – Stock on hand, 14th instant, B.P. rum, 107,674 gallons; brandy, 6,698 gallons; gin, 11,595 gals; other spirits, 1,463 gallons; tobacco, 84,063lb.

The Colonial Times (Tas.) 8 September 1835

CALCUTTA. The fine sailing barque, Adelaide, 336 tons, A. Steel, Commander, will sail for the above port on the 1st October, touching at King George’s Sound and Swan River, if sufficient freight offers. For freight or passage, having excellent accommodation, apply to LEARMONTH, & CO. 2, Old Wharf.

The Sydney General Trade List (NSW) 20 September 1834

ELIZABETH, (schooner), 51 tons Hart, master, from Launceston, Learmonth & Co., agents; 1,200 bushels wheat, 2 bundles skins, John Hart; 12 bundles skins, Order. (*Under Shipping Disasters it is reported that in August 1852 the Schooner Elizabeth, 80 tons, was wrecked near Cape Otway when sailing from Melbourne to Adelaide.)

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW) 25 June 1835

SCOTLAND. The Glasgow Liberal, an excellent paper, up to the 16th January, enables us to give a summary of the elections in the north. They will be read with interest, by every Scotchman who regards the feeling of his country on this memorable occasion………

EDINBURGH – The Conservative interest was taken up by Mr. Learmonth and Lord Ramsay (son of the Earl of Dalhousie,) against the Liberals, Mr. Abercromby and Sir John Campbell. The latter beat their opponents by a majority of more than a thousand votes.

“The land is, in short, open and available in its present state, for all the purposes of civilized men. We traversed it in two directions with heavy carts, meeting no other obstruction than the softness of the rich soil; and in returning over flowery plains and green hills, fanned by the breezes of early spring, I named this region Australia Felix.” (Major Sir) Thomas Mitchell, 1836. Surveyor and Explorer.

The Hobart Town Courier (Tas.) 22 January 1836

ON SALE ex PSYCHE. Loaf sugar, tamarind syrup, capillaire (*a beverage made from the leaves of the Maidenhair Fern), pine-apple rum in bottle, curry power, cheroots, straw hats, silk choppahs, Mirzapur carpets, log line and twine, Bengal canvass, cayenne pepper, chillies, real Bengal. LEARMONTH & CO. No. 2, Old Wharf.

The True Colonist Van Diemen’s Land Political Despatch, and Agricultural and Commercial Advertiser 23 October 1835. Ship News. Oct., 20. Arrived the barque Perthsire, Captain Jamison, from Leith, with a general cargo. Passengers, Dr. Learmonth, Thomas Learmonth, Somerville Learmonth, Andrew James Learmonth, Miss Margaret Learmonth, Miss C. Ann Learmonth……
Arrived the brig, Caroline, Captain Briggs, with oil from the fishery.
Arrived the schooner, Prince of Denmark, with oil from the fishery.

The Hobart Town Courier (Tas.) 28 October 1836

Governor Lieutenant-General George Arthur responded by letter to Thomas Learmonth, Esq., and the Gentlemen presenting the Address with his letter from Government House. We think there is not a heart in the whole island so hard as not to be softened at the perusal of the following document from the hand of Colonel Arthur which we copy from the Gazette of this day. As the father of a numerous family having a powerful and legitimate claim on His Majesty’s government we sincerely thank His Excellency on the part of our children for his promised advocacy of them in this distant land when he reaches the Court of London. We regret that our limits prevent us from saying more on this affecting occasion.

Government House, (Tasmania) Oct. 27.

“Lieutenant Governor Arthur received charge of the Government of Van Diemen’s Land on the 14th day of May, 1824, and on the 28th day of the same month, His Excellency received the assurance of the Clergy, Magistrates, Landholders, and Inhabitants, that “they felt, that it would be no less their inclination than their duty to manifest their respect to his person and government on all occasions,” and that “they could not but anticipate from his administration, the most beneficial results to their general interests;” this assurance His Excellency then “received as a pledge that he should in every measure of improvement, be strengthened by their cordial co-operation.” It is gratifying to the Lieutenant Governor, and he feels it, also, to be duty now that his Government draws towards its close, to acknowledge in the language of gratitude and affection, that this pledge has been, on the part of the Clergy, the Magistrates, and the Landholders and Inhabitants, most fully redeemed. But, whilst His Excellency is conscious, that the mutual obligation thus entered into, is about to be dissolved, he appreciates most highly the cordial sentiments which on the present occasion have been so generally expressed towards him; and he feels that the kind relation which has so long subsisted between himself and this Community, can never cease.

It is also peculiarly gratifying to His Excellency, that the time of separation has not arrived, until after the fruits of the co-operation he had adverted to, have become strikingly manifest in every district, until after the hut, has in so many instances been succeeded by the mansion, and the temporary shed, by the well ordered, and more than all, until after the word of God has begun to be preached in almost every district, and a charter of religious privileges been confirmed to this people by a beneficent Government, insuring to every denomination, the utmost extent of religious freedom.

His Excellency takes this opportunity of assuring those inhabitants whose recent applications on matters of interest to be submitted to the Secretary of State, it has been found impossible in the recent pressure of business to do more than acknowledge, that he will take care that their claims are brought properly under the attention of His Majesty’s Government, and that he will feel it to be a special duty to represent personally for most favourable consideration, the claims so often pressed upon his attention by the youth of the Colony under the Downing-street notifications, of 1824, 1826, and 1827. With these feelings and intentions, and with the most sincere and heartfelt desire for their future happiness and prosperity, Lieutenant Governor Arthur bids the inhabitants of this Colony, farewell.” GEORGE ARTHUR.

On Wednesday last a numerous deputation from the subscribers to the service of Plate to be presented to the Lieutenant Governor, met at Government-house, and at two o’clock were introduced by the Aid-de-Camp to His Excellency. Mr Learmonth addressed His Excellency on the part of the Deputation, and observed, that he felt gratified in expressing to His Excellency the opinion entertained of the ardour and unremitting attention which he had devoted to the best interests of the colony during the long period of his administration, not only by the respectable body now in attendance, but by the still more numerous subscribers. Entertaining these sentiments, the subscribers have ventured to express their regard and esteem for His Excellency by requesting his acceptance of a service of Plate. His Excellency, who appeared very sensibly affected during the delivery of Mr. Learmonth’s address, replied in the following terms: –

To Thomas Learmonth, Esq., and the Gentlemen presenting the Address.

We the undersigned inhabitants and visitors of George Town and its vicinity, beg to assure your Excellency that it is with unfeigned sorrow we have heard of your intended departure from this island feeling convinced that it has been to your indefatigable zeal joined to the excellence of your public and private character that we are indebted under providence for the many blessings we have enjoyed in this highly favoured colony. Accept, Sir, our warmest wishes for your welfare and happiness and that you may long live to enjoy the inward satisfaction of having so long and so faithfully performed your arduous duties in the devout prayer of Your Excellency’s most obedient and faithful servants, (Signed by upwards of 70 of the Inhabitants.)

Government House, 2th October 1836

GENTLEMEN, – I thank you most sincerely for this gratifying expression of esteem and attachment, and for the kind feeling which has dictated the terms in which you refer to the blessings enjoyed by the inhabitants of this colony. It is most gratifying to me, that since the time of my departure has come, it has arrived at a period when your present condition and future prospects are so highly encouraging. Gentlemen, with the most sincere wishes for your future happiness, and that of those whom you now represent, I bid you farewell. GEO. ARTHUR.

The Hobart Town Courier (Tas.) 18 November 1836

ADVERTISEMENT. Wines ex Drummore.

Claret of three different vintages, in English bottles, Port wine, 1 year in bottle and Sherry 1st and 2nd qualities. The above wines are packed in 3 dozen cases, and are from the Stock of the Wine Company of Scotland. Another advertisement is for Hyson Tea (*A Chinese Green tea) in whole, half, and quarter chests, Mauritius or Bengal sugar both raw and refined, soap, sago, black pepper, ginger, saltpetre, Sandorcay, imitation Manilla and Havannah cigars, pickled pork in tierces, grass in bags for seed that was “perhaps the best feed for horses.” A quantity of gunny bags for sale. LEARMONTH & co. 2, Old Wharf.

The Hobart Town Courier (Tas.) 27 January 1837

ADVERTISEMENT. Tasmanian Insurance Company.

The public are respectfully informed, that the receipt for premiums on policies falling due 1st February next, are ready for delivery at the Company’s Office, No. 8, Macquarie-street, Hobart town, and also by the Agent at Launceston, and that payment should be made on or before the 15th February. THOMAS LEARMONTH, Manager.

The Hobart Town Courier (Tas.) 3 February 1837

ADVERTISEMENT. SHEEP WANTED. From 500-1000 good young Ewes. Also four steady active men who thoroughly understand the management of Sheep, and who will be required to proceed to Port Phillip immediately. Also two good serviceable mares, either for draught or saddle. Apply to Mr. Learmonth, 8 Macquarie-street. Hobart-town.

The Sydney Gazette & New South Wales Advertiser (NSW) 2 February 1839
SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. ARRIVALS. From Hobart Town, same day, whence she sailed the 23rd ultimo, the schooner, Marian Watson, Capt. Thomas Ayers, with a general cargo. Passengers, Mr. Thomas Learmonth, Mrs. Vawser, and Mrs. Parker. Agent. Mr. D. Egan.

The Colonial Times (Hobart,Tas.) 5 March 1839
SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. MARIAN WATSON, Schooner, 146 tons – Arrived from Sydney with cedar. Passengers T. Learmonth, Esq., Mrs. Evans, family and servant, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Boyle, Mr. Young, Mrs. Arnott and three children. Rev. Mr. Mason and lady, W. Robinson, Catherine Gormon. A. Morrison, agent.

October 1840. Sir George Gipps reported that “a race of Englishmen are living in bark huts in a state of semi-barbarism because the conditions of their leases do not make it worthwhile to build permanent dwellings”.

The Courier (Tas.) 24 November 1840
CUSTOM HOUSE. Notice is hereby given, that unless the under-mentioned goods are cleared from the Bonded Warehouse on or before, Friday, the 4th of the ensuing month, they will be sold by Public Auction, on the Tuesday following, for the duties, rent, &c., at 12 o’clock in the forenoon: ……One case cheroots, bonded by T. Learmonth, on 20th June, 1835, ex Africaine…Three cases cheroots, F. 2-4, bonded by T. Learmonth, 23rd November, 1835, subsequently transferred to R. Sutherland, ex Psyche… (*The Africaine was the first ship to being paying immigrants to South Australia. She also carried the equipment for the first newspaper in the colony.)

The Moreton Bay Courier (Brisbane-Qld.) 31 October 1846
CAUSES AND CURE FOR FOOT-ROT IN SHEEP.
(From the Launceston Examiner.) The sheep should be laid on its back on the ground, and examined, the feet should be carefully washed, pared, cleaned, and dressed with the following solution – One pint spirits of turpentine, Three quarters of a pint white wine vinegar, Four ounces verdigris (*Verdigris is the patina found on copper of brass caused by atmospheric oxidation). Two ounces blue vitriol (crystalline copper sulphate), One-ounce butter of antimony (aparently a formula that includes hydrochloric acid and antimony oxychloride that is corrosive to metals and tissue).

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) 2 August 1842
THE WAVERLEY NOVELS. (From the Times.)…”the reader will have the real portraitures of almost all Scott’s heroes from history, of all the castles and towers that haunted his imagination, and of all the multifarious articles of curiosity which he delighted in assembling about him, and showing off to his visitors.” The first number, the only one which has yet appeared, contains a portion of Waverly, and comprises, among the landscapes, a view of the Highlands, from the Teith below Callander, and of the celebrated Eildon-hills, the land of Thomas of Ercildoune.

1848 Bishop Perry drove through the district in 1848 and found the church ‘shut down through her own sloth and luke-warmness.’ He preached on this occasion in the woolshed at Ercildoun, but no matter what their persuasion, ministers of religion were welcomed to the squatter’s homestead (The Flowers of the Field, A History of Ripon Shire by Hugh Anderson).

The Melbourne Daily News (Vic.) 12 February 1849
PORT PHILLIP GOVERNMENT GAZETTE. (Published by Authority). Superintendent’s Office, Melbourne, January 1849. CLAIMS TO LEASES OF LANDS, BEYOND THE SETTLED DISTRICTS, PORTLAND BAY DISTRICT. Claim No. 165.
John and Thomas Learmonth, junior, and Somerville Learmonth.
Name of run – Burrumbeet. Estimated area – 73,312 acres.
Estimated grazing capability – 45,000 sheep.
From a honeysuckle tree at the south-east angle of Messrs Donald and Hamilton’s run (from which point Boninyong bear south 66’ east, and Worrongneep south 81’ east) by a line bearing south 8’ east to a gum tree (marked) on the margin of a dry lagoon about 100 chains, thence to a Gum tree on the margin of the same lagoon north 3’ west 65 chains, thence to the margin of a lagoon known as the White Stone lagoon, north 33’ west 120 chains, thence found the eastern margin of the White Stone lagoon 210 chains, thence from the termination of a plough furrow on the margin of the same lagoon by a line passing through another lagoon known as the Horse lagoon to a lightwood tree on its north-eastern margin north 43’ west 110 chains, thence to a gum tree on the top of a small hill north 26’ west 9¾ chains, thence to a Honeysuckle tree at the north-west angle north 49’ west 158 chains, the above lines divide the station from Messrs. Donald and Hamiton’s run, from the same Honeysuckle tree at the north-west angle to a lightwood tree north 63’ east 125 chains, thence to a lightwood tree north 35’ east 95 chains thence to a Gum tree, marked west near the Pyrenees road south 76’ east 240 chains, thence to a tree marked west in the Mount Greenock creek north 47’ east 255 chains, thence to a double Gum tree at the northern angle north 3’ east 140 chains, the above lines divide the stations from Messrs. Robertson and Skene’s runs; from the same double Gum tree at the northern angle to an old Gum tree at a point of timber south 70’ east 72 chains, thence to a heap of stone on the Plain south 78’ east 56 chains, thence to a Gum tree at the top of a ridge south 68’ east 48 chains; the above lines divide the stations from Messrs. Macadam (?) and Co’s runs; from the same Gum tree along the top of a granite range known as Mount Beckwick range in a direction about south 42’ east about 160 chains till it meets Messrs. Coghill’s boundary; the above line separates the stations from Mr. Cameron’s run, the next boundary being that with Messrs. Coghill is in dispute and unsettled. From a lightwood tree on the Pyrenees road to a tree on the top of Bald hill on the margin of little “Borrumbeet” south 11’ east 82 chains, thence to a lightwood tree on the margin of that lagoon south 3’ east 26 chains, thence across little “Borrumbeet” to a lightwood tree on the point of the Saddle-backed hill south 11’ east 187 chains, thence to a broken, dead honeysuckle in the “Borrumbeet” creek, south 39’ east 135 chains thence to a Gum tree on Viscount hill south 10’ east 276 chains, thence to a lightwood tree south 52’ east 160 chains; the above lines divide the stations from Mr. W.J.T. Clarke’s runs; from the same lightwood tree south 40’ west 34 chains, thence to a stringy bark tree on the Borrumbeet road south 145 chains; the above lines divide the stations from Mr. Winter’s runs; from the same stringy bark tree along the Borrumbeet road 108 chains to another stringy bark tree, thence to a Honeysuckle tree near the creek about 400 yards below “Hugh’s’ waterhole south 79’ west 58 chains, thence to a lightwood tree west 48 chains, thence to a Gum tree in the range near the Portland road north 79’ west 224 chains; the above lines divide the stations from Mr. Archibald Yuille’s run; from the same Gum tree in the range to a double lightwood tree north 45’ west 205 chains, thence to a stake north 68’ west 253 chains; the above lines divide the stations from Messrs. Simson and Russell’s runs; from the same stake to another stake on Messrs. Donald’s and Hamilton’s boundary with Mr. Goldsmith, where the line runs through a dry marsh north 5’ west 181 chains; this line divided the station from Mr. Goldsmith’s run; thence to the Honerysuckle at the point of commencement.

Claim No. 166. John and Somerville Learmonth and Thomas Learmonth, junior.
Name of run – Boninyong. Estimated area – 12,838 acres. Estimated grazing capability – 5,000 sheep. From a lightwood tree near Dr. Power’s cottage (Boninyong bearing north 62’ east, about 2 miles distant) to a black-butted Gum tree on the Portland road to a marked Gum tree 45 chains, thence to the mouth of the gully known as the boundary gully south 82’ west 142 chains, thence to a lightwood tree south 60’ 184½ chains; the three last lines divide the station from Mr Winter’s station; from the same lightwood tree to another lightwood tree in a gully south 11’ west 182 chains, thence to a Peppermint Gum tree at the southern angle south 45’ east 204 chains; the above lines divide the station from Mr. Forbes’ run; from the same Peppermint Gum tree to a Gum tree on a waterhole in the Leigh river north 57’ east 95 chains; the above lines divide the station from Mr. Mercer’s run; from the same Peppermint Gum tree to a stringy bark tree on the old Sydney road north 132 chains, the above divides the station from Mr. Scott’s run; from the same stringy-bark tree to a Gum tree on the Tea Tree creek north 66’ west 37 chains; the above divided the stations from Messrs. Porter and Flemmings’ runs; from the same Gum tree down the Tea Tree creek to another Gum tree 30 chains, thence to the lightwood tree at the point of commencement north 22’ west 20 chains; the above lines and forest described in this paper divide the station from the Inn reserve.
*Aparently they pitched a tent where the Buninyong Homestead was built but I haven’t been able to find any photos or drawings of this property.

The Argus (Melbourne-Vic.) 20 February 1849
Superintendent’s Offices, Melbourne, January 1848. CLAIMS TO LEASES OF CROWN LANDS, BEYOND THE SETTLED DISTRICTS, PORTLAND BAY DISTRICT. Claim No. 308. Archibald Buchanan Yuille. Name of run – Ballarat. Estimated area – 10,000 acres. Estimated grazing capability – 5000 sheep.
(*His cousin William Cross Yuille had sold his Lease to him. William had also been involved in the exploration party with Thomas Learmonth and Henry Anderson to Northern Victoria, that included the area that became the Ercildoune run. In 1836 he and his cousin took up the Murgheballoak run on the Barwon River. He then went to New Zealand in 1840, was sole Lessee of the Rockback run on the Werribee Plains, then had Barwidgee station at Ballanrong in 1851. He travelled to England in the 1850’s and on his return settled in Williamstown where he set up a large stable and became a well-known figure in horse racing and founded the bloodstock aucioneering firm W. C. Yuille & Co. – taken from the Australian Dictionary of Biography.)

By the early 1850’s there were 1200 different stations or runs, with undefined boundaries, grazing 6.6 million sheep, and approximately half of these runs were held by Scots.

The Argus (Melbourne-Vic.) 1 February 1851
SATURDAY, 1ST MARCH. GREAT SALE of SHEEP STATIONS in the WESTERN DISTRICT.
An unprecedented opportunity for investing either for the large or small Capitalist.
LOT I. The West Strathdownie Station, with about 8,000 Sheep, and estimated to carry 12,000.
LOT II. The East Strathdownie Station, with about 10,000 Sheep, estimated to carry 16,000. (This Station will be sold either in one lot, or subdivided into two stations, with about 5,000 sheep on each. The stations are all watered by the Glenelg river and by permanent lagoons and are 70 miles from Portland.)
Lot III. The splendid Station Boninyong, on the River Leigh, 50 miles from Geelong, and 65 from Melbourne (containing about 13,000 acres of land), with about 6,000 sheep.
The proprietors of the abovementioned Stations being about to return to England, have instructed MESSRS. BEAR AND SON to offer them for sale by auction, at their Exchange Rooms, Queen-Street, on SATURDAY, 1st MARCH at Twelve o’clock.

THE BONINYONG STATION having been used by the proprietors as their residence, the improvements on it are perhaps more extensive and complete than those on any other station in the Colony. Among the principal may be mentioned,

A Dwelling House, with six rooms. Garden, well stocked with fruit trees in full bearing, Four three-roomed Cottages, Eight one roomed Cottages, Blacksmith’s Shop, Cooper’s Shop, Sheep Wash very complete, with spouts and hot water apparatus. A Boiling down Establishment and Apparatus with a Fell mongering Establishment annexed; a two storied millhouse with a four horse flour mill, threshing and winnowing machine, a 400 acre horse paddock, 50 do grass do, 40 do grain do (the greatest portion of which can be irrigated), and a pig paddock of 160 acres. A very low valuation has been placed upon these improvements, at which they are to be taken by the purchaser; and the freehold of 480 acres of land, judiciously selected, on this Station under the pre-emptive right, in the vicinity of the township of Boninyong, will be offered by the purchaser at Government cost prices. The auctioneers would earnestly invite men of capital to inspect this property, feeling convinced that they cannot invest in a more paying speculation, for, independently of the Station being a most profitable sheep run, a splendid income may annually be derived from the boiling down business, for which the situation is admirably adopted, being in the very heart of the most fattening part of the western country, and every requisite for carrying it on, is on the establishment, such as hoop and blacksmith’s iron, &c. &c. In fact may now be seen in full operation. Working bullocks, drays, from 90-130 pigs, oats, potatoes, and implements, are to be taken at a valuation. Flour, tea, and sugar, may be taken at market prices with carriage added.

THE SHEEP. On all the Stations are of a superior breed, as a proof of which the clip always realizes prices amongst the highest of any in the colony. The sexes and ages of the sheep may be learnt, as well as any further particulars, on application at the rooms of the auctioneers, where charts of the stations may be seen, and letters to view obtained.

6 February 1851 The Black Thursday Bushfires killed 12 people, 1 million sheep and thousands of cattle and other animals. It burnt around one quarter of Victoria = 19,000 square miles or 12 million acres. George Robinson recorded in his diaries that the local aborigines saved Captain Hepburn’s family and home by directing them to a safe spot near the creek.

23 May 1851 Thomas and Somerville Learmonth take a voyage to London departing from Williamstown.

In 1851 the peace and tranquility of the district had been shattered as word got around that gold had been discovered in the area in August 1851. By 1853 there were 20,000 miners, of many nationalities, searching for gold in the Ballarat area.

From A Valley of the Finest Description

Letter from A. J. Learmonth to The Honourable, The Colonial Secretary. Buninyong. 21st July 1852.
Sir, I have the honour to bring to your notice the following circumstances connected with an application for pre-emption of land at Buninyong and Burrumbeet, trusting that their consideration may induce the Board appointed for enquiry into such applications to modify their decision in our case. At Buninyong, we have erected extensive buildings and expended considerable sums in permanent improvements such as water works for irrigation and other purposes. These improvements cannot be protected by a single section but are dispersed through an area of a section and half or more. I have therefore to request that we may be permitted to purchase five hundred and twenty acres in addition to the four hundred and eighty acres granted to us last year. At Burrumbeet the site of our present home station has been found unsuitable and we are therefore desirous of removing it. I have therefore the honour to request that we may be permitted to protect the improvements already made by a small purchase of half a section of three hundred and twenty acres, and that we may be allowed to select the single section granted by the Board on any other part of our run which does not interfere with the localities appropriated by Government for public purposes. I have the honour to inform you that His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor is aware from personal inspection that our improvements at Buninyong are extensive and of a permanent nature and that the buildings upon the run at Burrumbeet are dispersed over three overseen stations, would, if erected upon a single spot, form a large home station. I therefore earnestly trust that our request may be granted. I have the honour to be Sir, Your most obedient servant. A. J. Learmonth.

On the 29 July 1853 His Excellency Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe addressed a circular letter to a number of early settlers, requesting information as to the time and circumstances of the first occupation of various parts of the colony. He received at least 58 letters detailing the personal experiences of Victoria’s earliest pioneers and colonists including Thomas Learmonth. These letters have been released in a book called Letters from Victorian Pioneers.

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) 26 September 1853
SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. ARRIVALS. WARATAH, steamer, 350 tons, Capt. Bell, from Melbourne, 22nd instant. Passengers Mrs. Blackstone, Mrs. Birmingham, Miss Goodman, Messrs. J. Hoyes, W. A. Blow, W. Snodgrass, Learmonth, Davis, Jervis, C. Swan, and twenty-four in steerage. A. S. S. Co., agents. (*The S.S. Waratah has been called “Australia’s Titanic” as it disappeared off the coast of South Africa in 1909).

The Illustrated Sydney News (NSW) 13 May 1854
PARK HALL, near Appin, the country residence of Sir Thomas Livingstone-Mitchell, being named and modelled after Park Hall in Stirlingshire, Scotland, the seat of the ancient and honourable family of Livingstone. He has endeavoured to reproduce in New South Wales his old home in the “land of mountains and of flood.” A prince demesne surrounds the modern Park Hall, presenting, in its diversified beauty of tree and lawn and underwood, all the appearance of an English park, while in extent it is rivalled but in few instances, the visitor having from the entrance-gate to the mansion a good ride of five miles. We trust that Sir Thomas Mitchell may long live to enjoy his property in a country which he has so eminently served. (*Our famous Australian explorer was brought up under the care of his uncle Thomas Livingston and has been described as possibly being a distant cousin of the Livingstone-Learmonth family).

Bushrangers Hold Up Ercildoun: Having heard that a sale of sheep had taken place at Buangor, two bushrangers visited that station hoping to find a large sum of money ready for their taking; fortunately the owner had taken the precaution of banking the proceeds from the sale. Rev. Alexander Adam recorded events at the time as was told to him by the Clarkes: –

The bushrangers suddenly appeared with guns and ordered all the people present into the storeroom where they were all secured to various fixtures by ropes. This done Mrs. Clarke was set free and was told to show them where her jewels were and then to prepare them a dinner of the best and wait upon them while they ate it. This was washed down with liberal supplies of brandy. Then they destroyed all the guns and pistols they could get, went to the store-room to tell Mr. Clarke to prepare for death as they meant to shoot him before they left – but they afterwards relented – most likely they only meant to give him a fright.

One unfortunate traveller turned up during these proceedings wishing to buy some hay for his horse – they ordered him into the store and tied him up, robbing him of £7 in his possession and then in the afternoon they started towards Mt. Cole Station, now Eurambeen. Mr. Stewart, a nephew of Colin Campbell, and son of General Stewart, a Colonial experience young man on the station, who was bailed up among the rest, managed to get free and set the others free and then went to Challicum, a neighbouring Station, and borrowed a horse and gun and went off in pursuit. He sighted the men as they entered the forest, and then the sun went down and he returned to Buangor, and early next morning he started once more in pursuit. He rode towards Ercildoun, Mr. Learmonth’s station, and strange to say he came upon the two men just as they were approaching the station. He rode hurriedly past them, warned Mr. Somerville Learmonth, and then mounted his horse and returned to meet his men. The older man fired at him but the horse threw up his head and caught the ball and fell and Mr. Stewart with him. ‘Now I have you’ said the bushranger taking aim once more, but the gun missed fire, on seeing which he cleared off, and the other, a younger man, with him. Without loss of time a message was sent to Mt. Mitchell, the owner of which, sent to Lexton for the Police and they accompanied by as many as could be got from Mt. Mitchell, went off towards Ercildoun, and with Mr. Learmonth and his men they formed a cordon, expecting to intercept the bushrangers before they could escape. It was not long before they caught sight of the older and more dangerous man and he presently saw that the game was up and surrendered to the Police. They took him to Avoca where the Stipendiary Magistrate resided, and from where he was shifted to Castlemaine, but there he escaped and was never heard of more – the younger man was never seen.

(*And in another bushranger incident, one unlucky man, the third son of a Scottish settler named George Taylor, had lost his arm in a fight with bushrangers, for which he received an extra 500 acres in compensation, but he was later killed by Aboriginals.)

The Royal Melbourne Show was originally called the Pastoral and Agricultural Society of Australia Felix in 1840. It has been held every September sometimes extending into October and runs for a period of 10 days. In the olden days there were ploughing matches held by the Moonee Ponds Farmers Society that went on to become the Port Phillip Farmers Society. In 1861 there was The Western District Pastoral and Agricultural Society that later became the Hamilton Pastoral and Agricultural Society Inc. These shows have always played an integral role in bringing the country to the city in Australia, and the Royal Melbourne show has held a Spring Show almost every year since 1858 and attracts crowds of around half a million people every year.

10th July 1856 – The Ballarat Agricultural Society held its very first event, a ploughing match held at Learmonth between 20 ploughmen. (*The Ballarat Agricultural Show Society evolved from the Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society to become such a significant event that it has now become an annual public holiday in Ballarat.)

The Star (Ballarat,Vic.) 30 August 1856
OPEN COLUMN. Letters from Joseph and Francis Longmore to the Surveyor-General of Victoria regarding the ‘unrighteous surveys lately made in the parishes of Ercildoun and Smeaton’ and that ‘the determinations seems to be to completely shut out competition, so that we may one of these days have a Lord bearing the title of “Earl of Ercildoun.”’ They further requested that an inquiry be made into the conduct of the Acting Surveyor in order that he may have an opportunity of satisfying them and the people of the locality that he has not been guilty of corrupt practices. Details of the Burrumbeet enquiry penned by “One of the People” stated that the investigation was to be private, but, by some means, the Messrs Learmonth found their way there, as also did their overseer; one other party applied to be admitted, but was refused. The Court also ruled it that the Learmonth’s should remain, upon what principle of justice to the public, it is difficult to understand. If the inquiry is intended to elicit the truth, should it not be conducted in a fair and impartial manner?

The Star (Ballarat,Vic.) 2 September 1856
GOVERNMENT LAND POLICY. Extract……“Messrs. Learmonth selected their pre-emptive right, at some distance from there, thereby securing in that quarter 640 acres at the upset price of £1 per acre. The site of their Homestead is also surveyed as a lot of 640 acres, on which is placed the moderate sum of £4,589 for improvements. An easy and pleasant method of securing two pre-emptive rights, which we most earnestly recommend to the attention of the electors of Emerald Hill, or to those of any other constituency, whose sweet voices (Surveyor-General) this gentlemen of such decided bucolic tendencies may solicit.” As a result of these words, the author was advised that 7 lots had been withdrawn in order that they could be subdivided into sections of 80 to 100 acres, and that a badly needed road be marked along lots 12 and 13 on the northern boundary.

In Joseph and Francis Longmore’s letter he states that –
It is a fact, sir, that out of about 3,000 acres at that time withdrawn only 640(!) have been subdivided into small farms, another 640 acres have been cut into two lots, and to add to the gross insult that has been put upon the people, 7000 acres more are now in the market in the same locality, nearly all in 640 acre lots. In fact the determination seems to be completely shut out competition, so that we may one of these days have a lord bearing the title of “Earl of Ercildoune.” It is true that some small farms are in the survey alluded to, but Learmonth’s wire fence runs all through them and £75 per mile has been laid on it for compensation.

The Argus (Melbourne,Vic.) 29 September 1856
THE RECENT LAND SALES AT BALLARAT. A letter also criticizing the method of sale of land to the Learmonths. Part of the letter states that – “Again, Sir, the Messrs. Learmonth are allowed section 82,640 acres, for their pre-emptive right – they have chosen that section – they do not live on it, neither, as I believe, are there any improvements on it, save a part of their wire fence. Having that section, what right had any surveyor to give them the benefit of another section, (sec. 8) with the full amount of their improvements (£4,599) on the whole section, that giving them a double pre-emptive right. Why were not these improvements included in a smaller piece, say 90 or 100 acres. The very fact of the Learmonths wanting a double pre-emptive right goes so far to prove what I before stated – that the land is good.”

The Star (Ballarat) 18 December 1856
THE BURRAMBEET INQUIRY. (Burrumbeet spelt with ‘a’.) (To the Editor of the Star.)
SIR, The committee of inquiry, to investigate the charges brought against the parties who surveyed the land at Ercildoun, sat this day, on the Camp. The investigation was to be private, but, by some means, the Messrs Learmonth found their way there, as also did their overseer; one other party applied to be admitted, but was refused. The Court also ruled it that the Learmonths should remain, upon what principle of justice to the public, it is difficult to understand. If the enquiry is intended to elicit truth, should it not be conducted in a fair and impartial manner? Should it be intended for a contrary purpose, the attempt will fail, for the matter will be put, at once, into the hands of a member of Parliament for further inquiry. Yours truly, ONE OF THE PEOPLE.

The Age (Melbourne,Vic.) 30 December 1856
HOW THE PEOPLE’S LAND IS CONFISCATED – A SPECIMEN. “Every hundred pounds that a tradesman, a mechanic, or a digger has saved in the hope of some day buying him a home, and becoming an owner of the soil in this glorious Southern land, will be there, in globo, at the command of the Government, – that is, at the command of a conspiracy of squatters. It states that it was rendered utterly impossible for them to compete in such extensive purchases with the wealthy squatters – the Messrs. Learmonth; and these gentlemen accordingly carried off the splendid prize of some 15,000 or 20,000 acres of the very finest lands in the colony, situated, too, in the centre of the great markets, supplied by the principal gold fields, at the upset price of £1 per acre. For, although the diggers attended the sale, the large size of the blocks prevented even an attempt at competition, there being few of their class, whether diggers or farmers, in a position to pay down £600 or so on the spot for a Homestead. Besides, the Messrs. Learmonth had made assurance doubly sure against all competitors by having some wire fencing, and some shepherds’ huts, outhouses, and other such “improvements” as they are facetiously termed, valued at such a high rate, that whoever should get the lands thus burdened, even if he obtained them at one penny an acre would find the price preposterously exorbitant – the usage being, as it is well known, to pay down on the fall of the hammer the full amount of the valuation. There was no competition therefore, and Messrs. Learmonth accordingly walked out of Carver and Dalton’s sale-rooms the undisputed lords of 20,000 acres of the best land in Victoria.” Of course the question of bribery or corrupt motives comes in to play too, but it mentions that the “wily Learmonth’s understood their game a little better than to manipulate the thimble-and-pea with the subordinates…” It also states that Mr. Surveyor-General Clarke was an old Tasmanian acquaintance and friend of the Learmonth’s. The second last paragraph states – “The whole affair speaks trumpet-tongued of the iniquity of the present land-system, which Capt. Clarke hopes, through the apathy of the public, and the indifference or ignorance of the members of the Legislature, to perpetuate, by his 2d. per acre seven years’ leases.”

The Star (Ballarat,Vic.) 6 July 1857
AGRICULTURE. CAPTAIN Clarke mentioned in the Legislative Assembly the other evening that there was at the present moment upwards of one million of acres of surveyed land for sale. This sounds well, but we should like to know what rule has been observed in the sub-division of this large area of territory; whether the memorable Ercildoun precedent has been followed, or whether a preference has been shown for the interests of the community, over those of the Learmonths, the Urquharts, the Clarkes, the Hentys, et id genus omne by dividing the land into moderately sized blocks, suitable for small farms, and ranging, according to the quality of the soil, from forty or fifty acres up to two or three hundred…….. It goes on to state – “Dazzled by the tangible, directly-appreciable, and attractive results of mining pursuits in this colony, and discouraged by an unwise and obnoxious land system, we have too much overlooked the importance of agriculture as an agent for the production of wealth; and concentrating our attention up the symbol, have not paid sufficient attention to the things signified. And hence have arisen those anomalies, which also arose in California, but have since ceased to exist there.”

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 15 August 1857
PHYSICAL CHANGES. Mr A. J. Learmonth has very kindly placed the following information, gathered through a series of observations, at our disposal: – “When this part of Port Phillip was explored in January, 1838, there was no fresh water in any of the lakes. A pool of water, intensely salty, was hidden among reeds near the influx of the Burrumbeet Creek, and very few spring were discernible. For some years our sheep and cattle were supplied only by the water of these springs, distributed in troughs. This was the case in 1840. Lake Burrumbeet was then covered with wiregrass and reeds. We burned it off that summer, and fed three flocks of sheep upon the ground now covered with water. The lake filled gradually, for I remember that in 1844 I rode in for swans’ eggs to a mud bank, at least half-a-mile from the present shore. This lake and the Cockpit are the only reservoirs in this neighbourhood, which we consider permanent. All the others, Lake Learmonth, the White Stone Lagoon, the Horse Lagoon, and the network of shallow lakes upon the plains, become completely dry, or recedes into detached pools of salt and muddy water every ordinary summer. The last two seasons have been moister than any of the preceding seventeen years of our experience. There are springs here, which never dry; others again recede with the regress of summer, disappear, and exhibit the remarkable phenomenon of re-appearance before the autumn rains, heralding their advent by several weeks. The volcanic soil of this portion of the district is supported by gravel upon imperious clay, frequently pierced by igneous rock. From this rock the springs issue. The hurricane on Black Thursday blew down a tree near the summit of a volcanic hill, and opened a spring which, still flows. The soil is so porous that we have difficulty in rendering watertight the artificial reservoirs we make. I am disposed to class the newly discovered country of South Australia with the large and well grassed but imperfectly watered district, which forms the northwestern portion of this province. The stunted gum and mallee described by Mr Goyder and Mr Hack, give little promise of permanent water. Their descriptions remind me of the shores of Lake Tyrrel, and the transitory lagoons filled by the overflow of the Wimmera, Avon, and Avoca. These lagoons are full at the present time; the abundant rains of the two last seasons have filled them. We know that their depth will not supply the evaporation of two years, and the gnarled gum trees growing in the water show, by their age, that there have been long periods of comparative drought in the climatic cycles of this continent. The periods of extreme and calamitous drought recorded in New South Wales, were in 1827-28, and again in 1837-38. The discovery of Burrumbeet occurred at the close of the latter, and a comparison of this fact with the date of Captain Sturt’s discovery of the northern shores of Lake Torrens, then unwatered, may produce inference of value to the latter. My brothers, who, in company with other settlers, were the original explorers of this district, are at present in England. My own recollections of the country do not extend beyond 1844. I am, therefore unable to furnish more particular records. So desolate did this country appear in January 1838, – without water, without grass, a bush fire having recently swept it – that they named the Peak of Ercildoun, Mount Misery, and passed on to the more abundant springs of Buninyong.”…Want of water has hitherto been one of the most serious drawbacks to the profitable occupation of the country. In many cases it prevents it altogether…

The Argus (Melbourne) 24 September 1857 and
The South Australian Register 30 September 1857
THE MURRAY COD. We have much pleasure in being able to state that the experiment of introducing the Murray cod into the lakes of this district will shortly be made. Mr. A. J. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, has taken up the matter, and will provide a horse and cart and the equipment’s necessary for the undertaking; and though unable to superintend the affair in person, he has procured the co-operation of one or two gentlemen who, we have no doubt, will bring it to a successful termination – Ballarat Star.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 4 November 1857
INTERESTING ARRIVALS. A few months later the newspaper reported that Mr. Learmonth had procured three couples of larks, and one couple of thrushes, which he took out to his residence on Saturday last. We hope that they will “multiply and replenish,” and by their pleasant melody, be the means of solacing the care of many an anxious worker in this land of the south.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 15 December 1857
LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS. INQUIRY. An inquest was held at Ercildoun on the 13th instant, before Dr. Clendinning, the coroner, on the body of William Douglas, who came by his death in the following manner: Deceased was engaged breaking in horses for Mr Learmonth, and on the morning of the 14th instant had one in hand, which he was about to mount; the animal reared, and the deceased, having the bridle reins in his hand, pulled the horse back on himself, his head and face striking the ground, and the withers of the horse coming right on his chest. Deceased never spoke or moved afterwards, but breathed for about an hour, and gradually sank till midday, when he died. Two witnesses deposed to the circumstances of the accident, and the jury returned a verdict in accordance therewith.

The year 1858 was also extremely significant as the great Welcome Nugget was found on June 10th weighing 68,956 grams containing an estimated 68,272 grams of pure gold. Quartz mining took off in the 1860’s as the shallow alluvial deposits began to run out after 10 million grams of gold were transported under police escort to the Melbourne Treasury, and an enormous amount was not recorded as per the law, and was sold on illegally. Ballarat’s last mine closed down in 1918 and it has been calculated that the total value yielded would be worth around the remarkable figure of $10,000,000,000.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 15 February 1858
BIRTHS. On the 27th ult., at Ercildoun, Burrumbeet, the wife of Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of a daughter. (She tragically died, at 15 days old and is buried in the Ercildoun Cemetery and her headstone reads – In Memory of the Infant Daughter of Thomas & Louisa Learmonth. Born 9th February Died 24th February 1858 Aged 15 days. “It is well with the child? It is well.”)

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 28 October 1858
£50 REWARD. Whereas several Head of Cattle have been lately stolen from our Paddock at the Black Hill, near Lake Burrumbeet, the above reward will be paid to anyone who will give such information as will lead to the conviction of the offenders. T. & S. LEARMONTH. Ercildoun, 9th October, 1858.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 28 January 1859
CHINESE MISSION. The second annual meeting of the Ballarat Chinese Evangelization Society was held on Thursday evening… The missionary Lo Sam Yuen was present at the beginning of the meeting, but was obliged to retire from indisposition. After singing and prayer, the chair was taken by Mr. James Oddie, who briefly recapitulated the circumstances attending the formation of the society, and its subsequent operations. The Mission had had to work against the current, but was in a hopeful condition nevertheless. Opposition brought out perseverance and faith. He liked to have to fight sometimes in an unpopular cause, and he thought the friends of the Mission had reason for congratulations on the whole. The prejudice against the Chinese was wearing away, and that was advantageous to the Mission… The sole object of the Mission was “the enlightenment and instruction of the Chinese colonists in the sacred and soul-saving truths of the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ.” For that purpose Bibles and religious books had been circulated; and the catechist, Lo Sam Yuen, addressed his countrymen every Lord’s Day, besides visiting and conversing with them on weekdays. He had visited the camps at Red Hill, Magpie Eureka, Canadian, Little Bendigo, and Golden Point no less than 436 times, visited 1061 tents, conversed with 9165 persons, distributed 669 books, and employed 1253 hours in the active duties of his mission. Through the removal of Chinamen from the Red Hill neighborhood, the chapel had been thinly attended of late. The open-air meetings, however, at the Eureka and Golden Point had been numerously attended; and the agent had visited the sick and dying Chinamen in the Hospital, some of whom he hoped had been visited “with a ray of light upon their path in the valley of the shadow of death.” Thus there was hope the work was “making progress, removing superstitious prejudices, exciting a sprit of enquiry, and leading not a few to thoughtful reflection upon the unsatisfactory nature of their antiquated system of religion, and the solid abiding consolation imparted by a reception of the Gospel of Christ.” While the agent had had to “pass through severe relative trials in the loss of his beloved partner, denied access to him by imperial edicts, separated from his children, his parents suffering persecution for the profession of their son, and oppressed with many anxieties in reference to the perpetuity of the mission, arising from pecuniary liabilities, — he had yet prosecuted his work with unabated ardor and devotedness. At the beginning of the year there was a balance against the society of £147 15s 4d, but meetings were held in the Wesleyan, St Paul’s and the Presbyterian churches, and much sympathy was manifested. The Geelong Committee had remitted £138 7s 5d, and Thos. Learmonth, Esq., of Ercildoun, had subscribed the liberal sum of £100.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 14 February 1859
LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS. IMPORTATION OF SWANS. Two fine English swans passed through Ballarat on Saturday last, on their way to Ercildoun, where we understand they are to remain to ornament the ponds on the property of Mr Learmonth. This is the second time Mr Learmonth has added to our stock of birds, for about eighteen months ago he imported a quantity of English songbirds. (*It was reported that the white swans failed to thrive on Lake Wendouree, as they were harrassed by the native black swans).

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 11 April 1859
ADVERTISEMENT. TWENTY POUNDS REWARD. Strayed or stolen from the Paddocks at Ercildoun, Burrumbeet, a white gelding upwards of 15 hands high, JB on the shoulder, and with a small bay spot over the near nostril. This horse is well known in the neighborhood as belonging to the Rev. Mr Mackie, of Lake Learmonth. Also, a bay gelding, black points, star on the forehead, branded M on shoulder. If strayed, whoever will return these horses will be handsomely rewarded; and if stolen, a reward of £20 will be given for such information as will lead to the conviction of the offenders. THOMAS LEARMONTH.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 8 June 1959
LOST from Ercildoun, near Lake Burrumbeet, a White Swan, lately imported from England. Whoever will return it to the undersigned will be handsomely rewarded. THOMAS LEARMONTH.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 1 July 1859
THE BURRUMBEET AND LAKE LEARMONTH AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY’S ANNUAL PLOUGHING MATCH. Excerpt…Nothing daunted by the storm, we found a considerable number of persons on the ground, and within 13 minutes of the hour appointed for starting, some ploughs commenced to cut the green sward. The land – a fine piece of gently sloping meadow, of rich black soil, forming part of the splendid estate owned by Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of Ercildoun – was in first-rate condition, and admirably suited for the work.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 31 October 1859
ADVERTISEMENTS. TO BUILDERS – Tenders required (labor only) for additions and improvements upon Ercildoune House, for Thomas Learmonth, Esq. Plans and specification to be seen, on and after Saturday, 29th, at J. A. Doane’s Armstrong street. Tenders to be sent in not later than Wednesday, 2nd November. The lowest tender not necessarily accepted.

Between 1858 and 1872, Thomas, Somerville and even Andrew had children born at Ercildoune, totalling 12 in number, so that’s a total of 16 family members living there, counting Thomas and Louisa and Somerville and Maria. Andrew and his wife Frances most likely only stayed there when Thomas succeeded to his family’s Park Hall estate and took on the name Livingstone.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 15 November 1859
NEWS AND NOTES. Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of Ercildoun, with his well-known liberality, has contributed £20 towards the erection of a Church of England place of worship at Lake Learmonth.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 27 January 1860
…There was a special general meeting of the Mechanics’ Institute last night, when Mr Thomas Learmonth, of Ercildoun, was unanimously elected trustee, in the place of the Rev. Cooper Searle, resigned…

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 16 February 1860
The Mechanics’ Institute is keeping up its position and its lectures too, and bids fair to be a permanent and useful institution. The site reserved by the Government in one of the very best places in Ballarat is still waiting the operation of the builders. A motion for a grant in aid has been made in Parliament, and it is hoped it will be successful. In the meantime, a building fund has been begun, to which Mr Thomas Learmonth, an old settler at Ercildoun, has presented successively the munificent sums of £50, £20, and £10 besides for books. This example is the more noteworthy as our wealthy townsfolk have as yet done little or nothing in aid of this valuable institution. The lecturers for the past month have been a Mr Edwards, who lectured on “phrenology” and on “the Treatment of Crime,” illustrating his addresses by busts and charts, and more recently, we regret to say, by appearing before the Police Court under a warrant for failing to maintain his wife and children in Melbourne. During one of his lectures, Mr Edwards declared that he had no “philoprogenitiveness,” but “positively hated children,” a striking illustration of which he afforded through the intervention of the police, and which may serve for a most apposite self-quotation in future platform efforts of the lecturer. The Rev. Mr Potter was the other lecturer, and he took for his subject “Byron, Shelley, and Tennyson,” on whom he passed some discriminating criticisms, and from whose works he made some recitations illustrating the special peculiarities of each author. The next lecture is announced to be by Mr W. B. Withers, on the “Mining History of Ballarat.”

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 16 February 1860
AGRICULTURE. It was reported that the State of New York has sent 17 volumes of its Transactions, besides pamphlets and reports, to be forwarded to Mr. Thomas Learmonth, as a mark of respect and a slight recognition of his standing as an agriculturist and stock raiser in Australia. The Secretary of the New York society expressed a “hope that this will be the commencement of an exchange of agricultural information in all its departments between Australia and America.”

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 9 March 1860
FIRST-CLASS INVESTMENTS. TOWN, SUBURBAN, AND COUNTRY PROPERTIES. Lot 15 – a superb investment – is a share in the Buninyong Gold Mining Company, Scotchman’s Lead, Learmonth’s Paddock.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 13 March 1860
BIRTHS. On the 5th inst., at Ercildoun, the wife of Thomas Learmonth, Esq. of a son.

The Star (Ballarat) 24 March 1860
NEWS AND NOTES. We understand that Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of Ercildoun, will lay the foundation stone of the new Presbyterian Church, Buninyong, on Wednesday next.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 29 September 1860
T. Learmonth was elected a Trustee of The Ballarat Mechanics Institute.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 21 November 1860
BENEVOLENT ASYLUM COMMITTEE. A letter was read from Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of Ercildoun, enclosing cheque for £15, being a portion of the prizes received by him at the late agricultural show. Received.

The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, Vic.) 1 February 1861
AGRICULTURE IN THE WESTERN DISTRICTS OF VICTORIA – reports that “the large and important agricultural district surrounding Ballarat is principally peopled by Scotch farmers, and a few English, and the better class of Irish farmers, whose knowledge of agriculture is not alone practical, but considerably so, and who appear to be a thrifty well to do population, evincing much industry, and a decided penchant for agricultural shows, dinners, trials of reaping machines, ploughing matches, the importation of blood and draught stock, &c. The farms range from 80 to 500 acres and upwards, and in the midst of those are the farmsteads, in many respects models of neatness, both internally and externally. The district is thickly populated as are some agricultural districts in England, and the farmer when comfortably settled on his land turns his attention to the erection of churches and schools, and devises ways and means to build the one and support the other, and make the necessary provision for pastor and teacher, and hence it is that in such districts as Learmonth, Miner’s Rest, Burrumbeet, and Coghill’s Creek, temples have been raised devoted to Christianity and education. Villages, too, are springing up in the agricultural districts, and within an area of 12 miles we have no less than nine flour mills, either erected and in full work, or else undergoing enlargement – a circumstance which will at once show the growing importance of the district.”

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 7 February 1861
LEARMONTH. CHURCH OF ENGLAND. With his well-known liberality, Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of Ercildoun, has intimated to Mr Morton, one of the trustees of the Learmonth church, his intention to give a further sum of £20 towards the liquidation of the debt on the Church of England here. He has already contributed a similar sum to the original building fund. Mr Learmonth is not a member of the Church of England, a fact, which renders his present donation worthy of more special notice.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 15 February 1861
NEWS AND NOTES. It is refreshing to find that there are in our midst, even among a much reviled class, persons “who do good by stealth and blush to find it fame,” and of this number may be reckoned, Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of Ercildoun, has taken under his charge the unfortunate lad who lately fired several stacks of corn on the farm of Mr. McLean, at Learmonth. Mr. Learmonth has been in communication with the authorities of the Geelong Orphan Society for some time, and has made arrangements for the reception of the boy into that institution. We are informed that Mr. Learmonth has three of these outcast boys at his station, and that he has about 20 more at various institutes in the colony, for whose support and clothing he pays a handsome sum annually.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 20 February 1861
During a visit I paid to Ercildoun, Mr Learmonth showed me a young tree, which he had brought from the East, which seems to be especially adapted to this climate. Its growth is rapid, its form picturesque, its verdure vivid, while the leaf, which is as large as that of the Damascus fig, is beautifully shaped, and so firm, close, and hardy in its texture as to be little influenced by the hot winds. This is the Oriental sycamore, and from the tree in his possession Mr Learmonth is about to strike half a dozen shoots, and hopes eventually to have a little nursery of them.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 22 February 1861 has a special correspondent reporting on “self-made men” who have sprung from the “down-trodden classes” as described by a Mr. Don, who “have achieved a competence by hard work, persevering thrift, and patient effort” and they mention a man who came out from Scotland some years ago as a Government immigrant, and landed at Geelong with half-a-crown in his pocket, and made his way into the interior and obtained situation as a shepherd upon a squatter’s station. Of course this was not at all the correct thing, according to modern notions. He should have loitered about the sea-port town, and assisted to organize a public meeting to call upon the Government to provide himself and his shipmates with employment, or to present them with a grant of land; failing which, he should have denounced them as members of a kid-glove aristocracy, who wished to degrade him and his friends to the condition of Russian serfs. However, he applied himself to diligent labour, cultivated a little patch of garden ground in the vicinity of his hut; sent in the vegetables to Ballarat, and husbanded the proceeds of the sale, as well as his own earnings, until he found means to purchase a few acres of land. These he tilled, improved, augmented, until at length he found himself the owner of a farm of 300 acres and on the high road to prosperity. He goes on to state that “this shows what has been done (long before free selection and deferred payments were ever heard of) by men who preferred working to talking, and instead of becoming political brawlers and stump orators, cultivated the virtues of industry, frugality, and self-denial.” There is some charming scenery at Ercildoun, and the mountain which perpetuates in Victoria the name of a spot so intimately associated with the traditionary and ballad lore of Scotland, is eminently picturesque; and the nearer you approach it the more romantic is its aspect. From the summit crop out huge masses of granite, square in form, with horizontal seams, and as grey and weather-stained as an old Norman keep. So closely do these masses of rock resemble new masonry, and especially such masonry as you find in the Cyclopean walls of Fiesole, that you can scarcely disabuse your mind of the impression that it is some dismantled old hill-city like Urbino or San Marino, in Italy, which crowns that light timbered eminence. In the valley below, Mr. Learmonth, acting upon the suggestion of Major Cotton, is constructing a series of reservoirs, for the collection and storage of the rainfall of the uplands; and the method is so simple, and the cost so trifling, that I am sure he would be conferring a service upon the community by publishing a detailed statement of both. From Ercildoune to Lake Learmonth your track lies through a splendid country, the soil a rich chocolate, and the crops very heavy. Much of the land belongs to Mr. Learmonth, and is leased by him to tenant farmers, upon what appears to be easy and mutually beneficial terms. On the margin of the lake, whose waters are contracting, in proportion, it is said, as cultivation is extending on the surrounding land, is a small township, containing numerous places of worship – so numerous, indeed, that, so far as my recollection serves me, there is one chapel to every house and a half; but I suppose remote districts furnish their respective quotas of worshippers, otherwise it struck me that, so far as the spiritual wants of the local population are concerned, they might be adequately provided for in one building, successively occupied by preachers of different denominations; just as, in some of the Swiss cantons, a Protestant clergy-man does duty on a Sunday morning, and a Roman Catholic priest on a Sunday afternoon, in the same church, without either of them leaving any taint of heresy in the atmosphere, to corrupt the faith or impair the devotion of dissentient believers. When the railway is opened to Ballarat, and there is a greater influx of visitors to Lakes Learmonth and Burrumbeet, it is to be hoped that the hotel accommodation in the neighbourhood will be improved. At present, judging from the establishment I visited, uncleanly habits appear to be assiduously cultivated by one, at least, of the innkeepers of the district.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 13 April 1861
LEARMONTH. (From our own Correspondent.) Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of Ercildoun, with his usual liberality in all matters in which the welfare of this district is concerned, has, at his own expense, retained the services of Signor Martelli, an eminent water works engineer, to report on an additional supply of water for Lake Learmonth. It was also fortunate that Sir Arthur Thomas Cotton, the tenth son of Henry Calvely Cotton, a British general and irrigation engineer devoted to the construction of irrigation and navigation canals throughout the British Empire in India, was a brother-in-law of Thomas having married Elizabeth Learmonth in 1841. His father Henry was the uncle of the noted Field Marshal Lord Stapleton Combermere, 1st Viscount of Conbermere Abbey.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 15 April 1861
LEARMONTH. (From our own Correspondent.)
THE LAKE. On Friday last Signor Martelli, the waterworks engineer, alluded to in my last communication, commenced his survey of the neighbourhood of Lake Learmonth, with a view to ascertain the best means for obtaining a permanent supply of water. He was accompanied on his preliminary inspection by Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of Ercildoun, who is well known to the public as the active and warm-hearted supporter of any scheme for the improvement of the district, or for the benefit of those residing in it, and by G. G. Morton, Esq., who has for some time past devoted much time and attention to the water supply of the Lake, and whose energy and zeal in all matters connected with the welfare of Learmonth are well known…

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 8 May 1861
ADVERTISEMENT. To Butchers. Fat Cattle. ALEXANDER KELLY will sell, at Bath’s Hotel Sale Yards, on Thursday next, the 9th instant, at TWO O’CLOCK sharp, 30 prime fat cattle. From the Messrs. Learmonths’, Ercildoun Paddocks.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 31 May 1861
BALLARAT DISTRICT ROAD BOARD. Meeting. Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of Ercildoun, having been introduced to the Board, stated that he desired to request a reconsideration of a resolution passed at the last meeting relative to the opening of a road adjoining part of his land, and while doing so was anxious that it should be clearly understood that he did not desire to ask any favor from the Board, neither would he wish to be treated differently from other ratepayers, but as he allowed the public the privilege of passing over his land where there was no road, and as the road proposed to be opened ended in a lagoon, he thought that by permitting him to keep a gate across the road, which would always be unlocked and available for the public to pass through, the Board would be simply returning him an equivalent for the use of his land beyond. The Chairman (after the road referred to had been pointed on the Board’s plan of the district by Mr Learmonth to the members present) stated that in accordance with their bylaw the Board could not rescind a resolution without first making a call of the whole Board. Moved by Mr McLean, seconded by Mr Sheahan – “That a call of the Board be made for the next meeting, to consider Mr Learmonth’s request.” Carried.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 19 April 1861
NEWS AND NOTES. We observe in the journals received by the last mail that Colonel Cotton, the eminent engineer, has received the honour of knighthood. Colonel Cotton is a brother-in-law of Mr Learmonth, Ercildoun, and a few years prior to the discovery of this goldfield resided for some time in this district, when he designed and carried out the large dams for the purpose of water supply on what was then Mr Learmonth’s property at Buninyong, and now belonging to the Buninyong Mining Company. He was also the engineer or originator of the large irrigation reservoirs in Tasmania, and may thus be said to be the ‘father of irrigation’ in these colonies.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 29 April 1861
The Buninyong (Gold Mining) Company broke into wash dirt in their Durham shaft on Friday, at a distance of 64 feet from the shaft. The company obtained 861oz. of gold last month, and 135oz. last week. Shares (40ths in the company) are now quoted at £1500. (*Buninyong Gold Mining Co. operated on land, 1,140 acres in size, originally settled by the Learmonth brothers which formed a portion of the valley where the Leigh River flows, with possible geological indications of having been an ancient river or arm of the sea into which the waters of the auriferous district of Ballarat probably found an outlet, and to where its prolific deep leads are trending – Ballarat & District Industrial Heritage Project. In 1859 the Buninyong Gold Mining Co. began mining the Scotchman’s Lead (buried river) and they took out 40,000 ounces of gold worth approximately $50-$60 million back in the year 2000 –The Miners’ Church, Buninyong, Information)

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 8 May 1861
MEETING AT MOUNT BOLTON. A public meeting of the inhabitants of the parishes of Addington and Ercildoun, which had been convened by printed placards, was held at the Royal Standard Hotel, on Monday, the 6th instant… The Chairman then called on the secretary to read the committee’s report, and the following petition, which had been prepared in accordance with the directions of the previous meeting: –
“To the Honorable the Chief Secretary. The humble petition of the inhabitants of the parishes of Ercildoun and Addington, in the county of Talbot, praying that the Government will separate the afore-mentioned parishes of Ercildoun and Addington from the Ballarat Road Board District, and join them with that of Lexton. The reasons why your petitioners urge this prayer are – Firstly: That the portion of country sought to be separated from the Ballarat Road Board District appertains really, naturally, and commercially to Lexton. Secondly: That the inhabitants of the above parishes have no interests in common with the rest of the Ballarat district, inasmuch that all the produce grown by your petitioners is conveyed to the up-country markets; whilst, on the other hand, the bulk of produce in other portions of the district is conveyed to the Ballarat markets; in consequence of which your petitioners are paying rates to make roads they do not use, whilst the roads by which all their business is carried on remain untouched, and almost impassable, inflicting very serious injury on your petitioners and a large portion of the community. Thirdly: That the boundary road between the Ballarat and Lexton districts is the only line of communication between the above parishes and the Maryborough, Black Creek, and other north-western gold fields; but that in consequence of its being a boundary road, nothing whatever is done to it, whereas, should the prayer of this petition be granted, it would become a central road in the Lexton district, and would be immediately made by that Board”… Moved by Mr Beattie, seconded by Mr McQueen – “That Messrs Thomas Learmonth and L. Wilkinson be deputed to wait on the Chief Secretary to present the petition; and that in case Mr Learmonth declines to act on such deputation, that Mr Wilkinson alone be the representative of this meeting.” Carried.
The meeting then broke up, but owing to the disgracefully impassable state in which the Government still allows the main Lexton road near Mount Bolton to remain, and the darkness of the night, the majority of those present were compelled to remain at the place of meeting till an early hour on Tuesday morning.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 17 May 1861
THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. CORRESPONDENCE. From Mr Learmonth, of Ercildoun, stating that he lived too far from Ballarat to act on the Exhibition Committee, and declining to act thereon. Received.

THE RAILWAY TO BALLARAT.
The Chairman now called on Mr Dyte to move the following notice of motion which he had given – “For the purpose of taking into consideration the advisability of opening the railway to Ballarat, and that such means be adopted by the Government to complete the viaduct over the Moorabool, so that no delay may take place at that end of the line.”

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 25 May 1861
Excerpts – While the ploughman or the shepherd in the mother country earns a miserable pittance, which barely suffices to procure him the common necessaries of life, he fares sumptuously in Victoria, and receives, in addition, a stipend more than equivalent to that of GOLDSMITH’S curate. Even the colonial hut-keeper is capable of earning from £20 to £25 a year, in addition to rations and free quarters; and any one who has seen much of life in the bush will readily acknowledge that the position of the hut keeper is infinitely preferable to that of numbers of well educated people belonging to the classes of impoverished gentility in England. In comparing the relative wages of artisans in the mother country and here, it is necessary to take into consideration the purchasing power of the money they earn… In all other respects the condition of the operative classes in Victoria is far superior to that of men of their own grade of life in Great Britain; while the political privileges and the educational advantages enjoyed by our population can scarcely be exceeded in any part of the world.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 8 June 1861
DISTRICT ROAD BOARD. CALL OF THE BOARD – MR LEARMONTH’S APPLICATION.
Excerpts – The business was to consider and order on the propriety of allowing Mr Learmonth to keep a fence on a road near the Cock-pit Lagoon. Mr Learmonth said the road he had applied for was not a thoroughfare, but was only to allow the people to get water from the lagoon. Mr. McPhllimy said there were many cases hanging on that of Mr Learmonth’s. Many fences pulled down had been put up again, and he thought that the owners might keep them up if the privilege was granted to Mr Learmonth… Mr Learmonth said that he would give up his privilege on any complaint being made. Mr Cowan contended that the putting up of the gate would prevent persons going with their cattle to get water at the lagoon; at all events it would put them to the trouble of opening the gate, which they ought not to have. The motion was carried that they could not allow for any roads to be shut up.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 8 June 1861
REWARDS. Fifty pounds for the apprehension and conviction of the person or persons who set fire to the bridge over the Honeysuckle Creek, on the Sydney-road, on the 17th May. One hundred pounds for the apprehension of the person or persons who set fire to certain stacks in the farmyard at Ercildoun, in the Ballarat district, on the night of the 14th May.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 27 June 1861
BENEVOLENT ASYLUM COMMITTEE. From T. Learmonth, Esq.,
Ercildoun, acknowledging his appointment as trustee. Received.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 5 August 1861
PRESENTATION TO THE REV. MR STEVENSON. Excerpt – It had been arranged to seize the opportunity offered by the occasion for making a presentation to the Rev. Mr Stevenson, of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, who is employed and paid by Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of Ercildoun, to minister to the district, a gentleman whose well known Christian philanthropy is no less an honor than a blessing to the country…

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 31 August 1861
THE WESTERN DISTRICT PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY’S ANNUAL EXHIBITION. Excerpt – Indeed the exhibition, properly speaking, was one of sheep, and the quality of those exhibited, especially by Mr Currie and Mr Learmonth, was first-class, and, as may be imagined, these two gentlemen carried off several of the prizes. A Merino ram exhibited by Mr Currie attracted considerable attention. It was only sixteen months old, of an extraordinary size, and was the heaviest animal of his age at the exhibition. His wool too, was of a choice description, and remarkably fine. Some Merino ewes exhibited by the same gentleman were of a very large size, and their fleeces of a first rate quality. Mr Learmonth’s Merino rams and other sheep also received marked attention, and were awarded a large number of prizes. It has been acknowledged that during the last few years this department of stock has been considerably improved by judicious crossing. Some Leicester and German rams were exhibited, but were not in such esteem as the Merinos……….

A sale was held after the judges’ awards were presented at The Western District Pastoral & Agricultural Society’s Annual Exhibition held in Skipton, of which Mr. Colin Campbell was President and Thomas Learmonth, Vice Chairman. He stated that if all the successful competitors responded to George Russell’s proposed health of the “Successful Competitors”, it would not be anything strange. He said the show of this year had been a great improvement upon former ones, and he hopes this success would continue. With regard to wool, he thought that the animals exhibited that day, as well as the wool, were a great improvement upon former years. One of Mr. Currie’s rams that was exhibited, weighed no less than 165lbs weight, although it was only sixteen months’ old. A Mr. Thompson also responded, as well as Mr. Currie, the latter remarking that meetings of the present description were calculated to do an immensity of good. He had been successful that day with Merino sheep, and he was confident that this species of sheep was adapted for the climate of the colony. Many persons looked on this class of sheep as small and ill, but he was convinced that little attention would make them equal to the other sheep exhibited, whether Leicester or any other sort. (*Mr. Currie’s son Sir Henry Alan Currie, became the third owner of Ercildoune in 1920.)

Thomas Learmonth entered Wrestler, his imported Clydesdale in the Horses Class plus 2 Colonial mares bred at Ercildoun, and 3 fillies. He also entered one imported bull and two cows bred at Ercildoun in the Cattle Class, 12 pens of merino rams and ewes, and one imported German ram and one merino fat wether in the Sheep Class and two exhibits of mangold wurtzel in the Agricultural Produce Sections. The final results were £10 for the best mare of the draught breed, above three years old, and £5 for the second best of this class, £6 for the best colonial bred filly, of the draught breed, under three years old, £3 for the second best of this class, £5 for the best Hereford bull, above two years old, £3 for the best Hereford cow, above three years old, £2 for the second best of this class. As for the sheep he’d entered he won £10 for the best three merino rams of any age, £10 for the best five Merino ewes, £10 for the best five two-toothed Merino rams, £5 for the second best five of this class, £2 for the third best give of this class, £4 for the second best five two-toothed ewes, £2 for the five best Merino wethers, as fat sheep, £5 for the best ram in the yard, and £2 for the best dozen root of mangold wurtzel in the Agricultural Produce Section.

*This is a root vegetable also known as Mangelwurzel or Beta vulgaris, and it is a European heirloom vegetable dating back to 1767. It can grow up to 24 kilos and is grown to feed cattle and pigs, but it can also be eaten by humans, but not surprisingly it can also be turned in to a ‘potent alcoholic beverage’ and aparently there was a recipe for Mangelwurzel beer included in the 1830 recipe book called The Practice of Cookery! The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 19 June 1866 recommends growing the Mangold Wurzel as a winter crop so that they would be better able to encounter those comparatively barren periods which occur about the last month of our year. It is mostly by the means of the swede turnip and wurzel that the English farmer is able to stall or yard feed, and keep in a fair condition during the long winter and spring, those cattle whose droppings are so necessary to maintain the fertility of his holding. It keeps for a longer period than the turnip and if left in the ground will keep till well on in summer, and it appears to be altogether exempt from the attacks of the aphis, and aparently all other vermin according to the writer ‘Edinensis’ of Bulimba. He says that the harvest would be from 20–30 tons per acre in a good season.

*Sadly there were no entries in the knitted Merino socks section!

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 9 September 1861
NEWS AND NOTES. At the Agricultural and Horticultural Society’s Show held at Geelong on Thursday last, Mr. Thomas Learmonth, Ercildoun, gained the gold medal (first prize) for a pen of five merino ewes in the wool.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 18 September 1861
To Butchers, Fat Calves and Fat Pigs. ALEXANDER KELLY will sell at Bath’s Hotel Sale Yards, on Thursday next, 19th inst. At two o’clock sharp, 30 head fat calves. Also, 15 prime fat pigs, from the station of Messrs. T. & S. Learmonth, Ercildoun.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 19 October 1861
THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY’S EXHIBITION. Excerpt – Thomas Learmonth’s imported Hereford bull bred at Ercildoun attracted considerable attention, and was awarded a Gold Medal. He exhibited two pens of Colonial bred Merino sheep, and two purely bred Merino rams of extraordinary size and beauty. The Hereford cow “Countess” was considered a remarkable beauty. His Colonial draught mare won Silver in the Best Colonial draught animal as did a draught filly by the imported horse “Bothwell” (two entries), as did the Draught Gelding by Bothwell (two entries), as did a filly by Bothwell, and Silver for the imported Hereford Bull “George Powell”, the Hereford Bull “Blucher”, the Hereford cow “Beauty” and the Hereford Cow “Countess.”

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 3 December 1861
BIRTHS. LEARMONTH – On the 26th ult., at Ercildoun, the wife of Somerville Learmonth, Esq., of a son.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 15 February 1862
£50 REWARD – Whereas some fat cattle were stolen out of one of our paddocks in the month of January last, a reward of fifty pounds will be given to any one who will give such information as shall lead to the conviction of the offenders. T. and S. LEARMONTH. Ercildoun, 12th February.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 18 February 1862
Cobb and Co. Coaches placed an Advertisement in The Star newspaper stating that their coaches could travel from Ballarat to Melbourne in 9 hours.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 12 June 1862
BIRTHS. On the 6th June, at Ercildoun, the wife of Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of a son.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 18 June 1862
NEWS AND NOTES. The thistle nuisance is much complained of and mentions that the tardy action of the Government through the Board of Agriculture is very generally censured. We are glad to hear that Thos. Learmonth, Esq., of Ercildoun, has thrown out some valuable suggestions to the farmers about Lake Learmonth, relative to making a vigorous effort to eradicate, or at any rate to check, the spread of the thistle in the district without waiting any longer for Government aid.”

Also reported in the newspaper that day was that “The Clerk of the Plank Road Racecourse writes to inform them that the sport there is getting fast and furious – more so, in fact than is either safe or agreeable for those who may have occasion to travel along the course, especially at night. Aparently a mail driver was bringing the mail for that night on horseback from Buninyong, when he was rendered hors de combat by a four wheeled wagon driven at top speed on the wrong side of the road, the shaft of the wagon ripping open a valuable mare belonging to Mr. Casey, the mail contractor, and bringing the unfortunate rider to the ground with such force as to hurt and bruise him severely.” The guilty party had aparently driven off as fast as the horses could gallop and it states “The residents like well enough to see a trotting match in daylight now and again, or a few of our western magnates come down to air their gentility, but the reckless driving of the waggoners has long been a crying evil, and requires abatement.” (*It appears that Road Rage was alive and well even back then!)

On this date it was reported by Sydney telegram published in The Age, that the escort from the Lachlan, on its way down, has been stopped and robbed by Gardiner and his gang, consisting of 12 men. From a few particulars that have come to hand, it appears that a regular fight took place, in which all the troopers but one were wounded, and the robbers came off victorious, carrying away all the gold. The quantity is not yet known here, but there is no doubt that the booty was very large.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 28 July 1862
THE REPRESENTATION OF RIPON. The requisition to Mr. George G. Morton, calling on him to become a candidate for the representation of Ripon and Hampden, has been very extensively signed in the Ballarat agricultural district, and the names of Mr. Thomas Learmonth, of Ercildoun, and Mr. Bath, and other large landed proprietors, have been added to it within the last few days.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 22 August 1862
Application has been made to government to proclaim Lake Burrumbeet and its tributaries under the provisions of the 11th section of the new Act for the Protection of Fisheries (25 Vic. No. 152). The section referred to imposes a penalty not exceeding £10 and the forfeiture of his net, on any person laying down, using, or fishing with any kind of net, in the Yarra Yarra, Plenty, Werribee, or Salt Water rivers, or their tributaries, or in any other river, lake, creek, stream, or pond to which the Governor by proclamation shall extend the provisions of the section. Some years ago, through the private enterprise of Mr T. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, aided by the Municipal Council of Ballarat, Lake Burrumbeet was stocked with fish, which have till lately remained unmolested, but during the last month a party of men camped on the south side of the lake are said to have been actively employed with nets in the removal of a large quantity of fish for sale. The name of one of the men has been obtained by the police, and steps are being taken to prosecute the parties concerned for not having registered themselves as required by the Act. The camp alluded to has suddenly been removed, and the nets for the present cannot be found.

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 10 September 1862
VICTORIA AT THE GREAT EXHIBITION. AWARDS OF THE JURORS. Medal to Learmonth, T. and S., Ercildoun: Length, condition, and general combing properties of wool. J.L. Currie of Larra, Cressy also won a medal for length, condition, and general combing properties of wool. (*It is stated that Currie’s sheep, in a decade, rivalled the Learmonths.)

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 11 September 1862
Victoria at the Great Exhibition. Awards of the Jurors.
SECTION B – Other Animal Substances used in Manufacture. MEDALS. T. & S. Learmonth, Ercildoun – Length, condition, and general combing properties of wool.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 10 October 1862
PORT PHILLIP FARMERS’ SOCIETY ANNUAL SHOW. There were altogether about ninety entries under the heading of horses. The number of beasts coming under the signification of cattle was about seventy-two. Thomas Learmonth won first prize with his imported Hereford bull Egremont, calved 13th November 1856, and he came first and second with his merino rams, bred at Ercildoun, shorn 2nd November, 1861. J.L. Currie placed third. The pure Merino ewes, bred at Ercildoun, shorn 4th November 1861 received first and third prizes. His four year old Clydesdale broodmare Nancy came second, and his Victorian bred broodmare in foal to Bothwell came 3rd.

*The egg category sounded quite intriguing with the description that – “the eggs were such as are never to be found in a poulterer’s shop with most of the hen eggs being bigger than ordinary-sized duck eggs, the duck eggs being as large as goose eggs, and the goose eggs might very readily be supposed to have been laid by an ostrich” – according to the reporter. In the extra stock were exhibited three of Mr. Edward Wilson’s imported stallion asses – “very sagacious and hardy-looking quadrupeds, which excited no small degree of curiosity.”

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 13 October 1862
ADVERTISEMENT. Imported Clydesdale Horse WRESTLER. A few Mares can still be received at Ercildoun, at £4 4s each.

ADVERTISEMENT. BOTHWELL. This celebrated pure Clydesdale Stallion will travel this Season in the districts of Burrumbeet and Ascot, as follows: – Every Monday, commencing on Monday, the 22nd September, at Mr. D. Clyne’s Farm, Burrumbeet, Tuesday, at Swan’s Two Bridges Hotel. Wednesday and Thursday, at Mr. James Clyne’s Mount Blowhard. Friday, at Sheehan’s Victoria Hotel, Coghill’s Creek, and Saturday, at Wrights Mount Bolton Hotel, Springs. Terms – Four Guineas each mare; including paddocking, Five Guineas. Mares to be removed on notice being given, otherwise three shillings per week will be charged. All money to be paid to the groom at the end of the season. Bothwell was imported in 1858 by Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, from when he was purchased by his present proprietor. He is a sure foal getter, and his stock is very promising. DAVID CLYNE, Burrumbeet Proprietor.

There is also an Advertisement for the now widely known store, David Jones, Criterion House, Ballarat, stating that they have just opened a large and varied assortment of Spring Novelties, in dresses, mantles, lace shawls, collars, and other articles of fashionable attire for ladies’ and gentlemen’s wear, including a beautiful assortment of Summer Tweeds. They had also just received 300 Shepherd’s Plaid Long Shawls and 275 Plain Llama Long Shawls. (*The Plaid Long Shawl was also known as a ‘maud’ and was commonly worn as an outer garment by the Scottish shepherds or common man as it provided warmth amongst the Border Hills and protection from the elements as it could be used as a blanket at night. It was very useful and so large it could also be re-arranged to create pocket like areas for carrying food, and other provisions, and even lambs.)

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 18 October 1862
BALLARAT AGRICLTURAL SOCIETY’S EXHIBITION. Second Day. Mr. Thomas Learmonth, whose exhibitions were the best in the show, for the five best Merino Rams, was awarded the silver medal, and for the second best five – £2. He won first prize with five Merino Rams in the wool and for the best twelve Merino Ewes in the wool. He also received the silver medal for an aged Hereford Bull and he had the best, aged Hereford cow. The imported mare Nancy attracted considerable attention and won the gold medal, and the judges remarked that the animal was the best and/or finest that they had ever seen in the colony. His colonial draft mare Sally Lee was awarded first prize as the best in this class. In the draught horse stock he had the best imported draught entire Clydesdale horse, Wrestler, and he successfully entered two exhibits by Bothwell in the best three-year-old draught filly.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 31 October 1862
SUPERIOR HEAVY DRAUGHT COLTS AND FILLIES. From the station of Messrs. T. and S. LEARMONTH of Ercildoun. ALEXANDER KELLY is instructed by Messrs T. and S. Learmonth to sell by auction, at Craig’s Royal Hotel Sale Yards, on Saturday next, the 1st November, at twelve o’clock, 25 COLTS AND FILLIES, the Produce of the Imported Horse “BOTHWELL.” The Stock bred by the Messrs Learmonth is so favorably known in this district that any comment by the auctioneer would be superfluous.

The Farmer’s Journal and Gardener’s Chronicle (Melbourne, Vic.) 8 November 1862
COUNTRY MARKETS. DENILIQUIN STOCK REPORT. There are no transactions to report; those who want to purchase are looking out for very superior store cattle, and prime lots of store bullocks, or well-bred spayed cows along are saleable. Our Swan Hill correspondent reported on the 23rd as follows: –

21st October, 350 fat cattle, Storton and Hewitt’s, passed from the Darling. 22nd, 2900 fat sheep, (Burkett’s) from the same place. 23rd, 220 fat cattle (Morris’s from Yangah); and 630 Herefords, (Learmonth’s) from Ercildoun, near Ballarat, for Nyang Station. – Pastoral Times, 31st October.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 6 December 1862
Pure Blood Colonial-Bred Rams. J. H. Clough and Co. have been instructed by the breeders, Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, to offer for Public Competition, at their wool warehouses, Collins-street west, on Friday, 12th December, at half-past eleven o’clock precisely, 70 pure merino rams, in their wool, bred at Ercildoun. These rams will be chiefly two-tooth, with the exception of 10 or 12 (which are 12 months old, and the progeny of a very fine imported Garman ram); they are all pure Australian merinos, without admixture of any cross, and have been kept pure for upwards of 25 years, when the original sheep were imported into Tasmania by the late Mr. Furlonge, from the Electoral Flocks in Germany. After the above remarks by the breeders, it is unnecessary for the auctioneers to do more than simply refer to the fact that the Ercildoun stock has obtained the reputation for quality, length, and quantity of wool, together with size of carcass, of being the best in the colony; and that the present opportunity is one which may seldom offer again for securing really good and acclimatized sheep.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 12 December 1862
NEWS AND NOTES. On Tuesday last, a social gathering of the congregation at Wycliffe Church was held at Learmonth in a spacious temporary building erected for the occasion on the Church of England reserve at Learmonth. The building which measured some sixty feet in length by twenty-five in width, was furnished with five long tables, surrounded with benches, calculated to seat from two hundred to two hundred and fifty persons. The Sunday school children were first entertained at four o’clock with a very substantial tea, after which several races were got up by the boys, the winners being presented with cricket bats, balls, &c., which had been liberally supplied for that purpose by Mr Thomas Bath, J.P., of Ceres. At seven o’clock the congregation of the Church and their friends, assembled to the number of about two hundred persons and partook of refreshments supplied in the greatest profusion by the following ladies who presided at the several tables… The tables were adorned with splendid bouquets of flowers, from the gardens of Mr Thomas Learmonth of Ercildoun, and those of other gentlemen of the district. The Learmonth singing class, under the management of its instructor, Mr Boyd, had volunteered its valuable assistance to enliven the evening, and astonished all present with the efficiency attained by its members during the short period the class has been in existence. Mrs Wollaston presided at the harmonium during the evening. The several clergymen present delivered interesting addresses during the evening, and the usual vote of thanks to the ladies was afterwards carried with much enthusiasm. The gathering did not disperse till after ten o’clock, all present evidently much pleased with the evening’s entertainment. (*This article relates how important the Church was to communities back then).

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 8 January 1863
RAINFALL AT ERCILDOUNE. Mr Thomas Learmonth, J.P., has obligingly forwarded the following memoranda of a register of rainfall kept by him at the foot of Ercildoun.
Height at an elevation above the sea of about 1500 feet: –

There in 1858 fell 22.96 inches
There in 1859 fell 22.46 inches
There in 1860 fell 28.18 inches
There in 1861 fell 28.77 inches
There in 1862 fell 20.53 inches

From the above it will be seen that the past year has been unusually dry.

The Geelong Advertiser (Vic.) 24 January 1863
AGRICULTURE. Excerpt – The exhibition of wool for two silver cups offered for competition by the Western District Pastoral and Agricultural Society was held at the stores of Messrs. Clough and Co., Melbourne. A silver cup worth £50 was the prize awarded for the most valuable bale of eighty ewe fleeces and this was won by T. and S. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, near Buninyong. The judges valued the wool at 2s 9d per lb., but they said it might fetch any price as it was a fancy article. One of the judges said he would have given 3s per lb. for it. The Learmonth brothers also won another handsome silver cup valued at L30 for the best sixty ewe fleeces of greasy wool with a bale of magnificent wool of superior breeding, quality, and length – a finer bale of greasy wool had never been witnessed before. Thomas Shaw and J.L. Currie took out the next placings. (*Messrs. Learmonth declined to monopolize both first and second prize, and the cup for greasy wool was awarded to Mr. Thomas Shaw.)

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 26 February 1863, (The Ballarat Star 23 February.)
A person renting a farm of eighty acres from Mr. Learmonth who was the holder of a twenty-acre allotment licence, was given the present of the eighty acre farm worth £10 an acre, that he was only renting, for surrendering to him the twenty acres that he held under the occupation licence.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 2 February 1863
A thief entered the outhouse belonging to Mr. Thos. Learmonth, at Ercildoun and stole an English saddle and a single-reined bridle.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 26 March 1863
NEWS AND NOTES. A correspondent writes that the children numbering nearly 50 at the Ercildoun School underwent a thorough examination by the Rev. Mr. Stevenson of Ercildoun, in the various branches of education, viz., English, reading, grammar, writing, arithmetic, geography, dictation and Latin, and displayed much proficiency in these departments. Mr. and Mrs. Murray are credited with being a blessing to society, and especially to the youth of the locality, where it is their lot to reside.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 24 April 1863
BOARD OF AGRICULTURE ANNUAL MEETING…makes mention that one acre in Tasmania would fatten 17 sheep in 6 months.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 25 April 1863
Advertisement for Heavy Draught Brood Mares, Broken-in, Light Harness, and Saddle Horses, Unbroken Colt and Fillies. It states that these horses are for sale because Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth were giving up breeding. For Sale are 10 first-class heavy draught brood mares, 10 horses broken to harness and saddle and 10 Colts and Fillies suitable for coaching, light harness, and saddle.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 3 June 1863
LEARMONTH POLICE COURT. Before Messrs. Thomas Learmonth (Chairman), George G. Morton, Thomas Bath, and John Blunden, Justice of the Peace. A case concerning malicious destruction of trees that resulted in bail would be taken and that each prisoner in his own recognizance of £200 and two sureties in £100, and the prisoners were removed in custody and ultimately forwarded to the Ballarat Gaol.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 1 August 1863
WANTED a party of men to erect a dry stone fence at Ercildoun, near Burrumbeet. For particulars apply to Mr Learmonth, at the Enterprise Works, Golden Point.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 15 August 1863
LEARMONTH’S MERINO RAMS. To be sold by auction at Skipton. 400 of their prime Merino two-tooth rams. These rams are guaranteed of the purest blood, and are considered the finest lot that have yet left the Ercildoun paddocks.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 24 August 1863
BIRTHS. LEARMONTH – On the 20th inst., at Ercildoun, the wife of Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of a daughter.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 31 August 1864
AT THE SKIPTON SHOW. HEPBURN and LEONARD are in receipt of instructions from Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, to sell by auction, (after the Show), on Thursday, 3rd September, the imported Clydesdale Stallion, WRESTLER. Also, the imported Clydesdale dk brown Mare. Pedigree and other particulars of the above can be had from the auctioneers. H. and L. will also offer several other imported horses for sale at the above place and date.

S. GOUJON, Sharebroker, Sturt Street. Mining Shares for Sale: –
Golden Stream, Scarsdale; Try Again, Daylesford; Grand Junction, Springdallah; Recompense, Sulky Gully; Durham, Swamp; Prince of Wales, Cobblers; Great Extended; Leviathan, Napoleon; Duke of Cornwall, Durham; Albion, Sebastopol; Robin Hood, Lucky Womans; Victoria, Clunes; Prince of Wales, Cobblers; Grand Trunk, Springdallah; Great Extended, Blanket Flat; National, Durham; Albion, Sebastopol; Fear Not United, Daylesford; Omega, Springdallah; Beaufort Junction; Cosmopolitan, Golden Point; Band of Hope, Little Bendigo; Working Miners, Sebastopol; Luck’s All, Scarsdale; Scarsdale Extended, Scarsdale; South Grenville, Durham; North American, Lucky Woman’s; Waverley, Springdallah; Bonshaw, Winter’s Flat; Buninyong; Learmonth’s Paddock, 5 shares each: 100.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 14 September 1863
BALLARAT LIVESTOCK MARKET. MESSRS POWER, RUTHERFORD, ETTERSHANK AND CO. Report Re Fat Cattle. Market very full with principal prime quality. Amongst the lot was a mob from the run of T. and S. Learmonth, Ercildoun, very prime and heavy, mostly pure bred Herefords; and certainly some of the lots penned were never excelled in the Ballarat yards. One pen of eight realized £10 5s, which we do not consider a high price, taking the excellency of the bullocks into consideration.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 28 October 1863
ADVERTISEMENT. WANTED. A party of Three Men to dig about 20 chains of water channel, at Ercildoun. Apply at Enterprise Works, Ballarat.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 7 November 1863
SMEATON SPRING HILL AND BULLAROOK AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. Second Prize Draught Mare with or in foal – £2 Ercildoun bay mare ‘Vandy’, by George Buchanan. Second Prize Dry Draught Mare ‘Rose’ by Bothwell. First Prize for a colt by Wrestler and Second Prize for a filly by Wrestler, both entries in Yearling Colt or Filly. Second Prize – Best foal by any sire.

The Geelong Advertiser (Vic.) 28 November 1863
THE LATE INTERCOLONIAL SHEEP EXHIBITION. Messrs. Learmonth and Mr. Shaw obtained the champion prizes for the best colonial bred ram and ewe and removed their sheep entirely from the exhibition in order to afford other parties a chance of the smaller prize. It was shown that next to our own sheep, those of Tasmania held the highest place, for they in their turn beat all the imported sheep exhibited from the choicest flocks of Europe. One Tasmanian breeder mentioned that he was competing with donkeys as the Victorian sheep were much larger and had finely developed symmetrical frames because of the advantage of climate, as both the Tasmanian and Victorian wool were similar in fineness, closeness and length of staple. It stated that wool had increased in price by nearly 100% as in 1845 wool price averaged 11d per l lb. and this had increased to 1s 8d in 1860.

The Geelong Advertiser (Vic.) 29 January 1864
THE BUNINYONG GOLD MINING COMPANY, BUNINYONG. Of all the peculiarities of Australia that serve to distinguish it from other countries of the world, perhaps not the least remarkable by which it will be known in after ages will be its freedom from tradition. Excerpts – In the absence of old traditionary lore, the tendency most persons have, more or less, to find occasional recreation in knowledge of that description discovers here no other outlet but in the tales of early settlers and the one who will recount some of his early experiences when, long before the aura sacra fames (= the accursed greed for gold) attracted later adventurers to the colony – he first took up ground that may have turned out to be a rich gold field, and on which in so brief and interval as it is, a large city of town may have since been built, is almost sure to find at least a few not unwilling listeners. The site occupied by the company we are about to describe was originally Messrs. Learmonth’s pre-emptive right and enclosed the home station. With the intention of taking up a run near Buninyong, Thomas pitched his tent, or rather camped under a tree, on the banks of a large water hole that has been formed by the junction of the Dog Trap Creek with the river Leigh, and not many hundred yards from where the Buninyong Company’s Durham shaft has been sunk. The Messrs. Learmonth extended their runs to the Burrumbeet Plains and Ercildoun, the whole of the country to the White Stone Lake, the Springs (now called Waubra) and Lakes Learmonth and Burrumbeet being occupied by them.

As many as 60,000 sheep were shorn in one season at the home station at Buninyong, all the flocks from Burrumbeet and elsewhere being brought there for that purpose. The woolshed, 200 feet long by 40 feet wide, and well built, was esteemed a model by the whole surrounding district. In those early times no demand existed for the meat that was produced in such large quantities. A choice leg of mutton was worth a sixpence, and a living sheep two shillings. The Messrs. Learmonth were among the first who tried to increase the profits of the sheep farmer by exporting the tallow, capable of being procured in such abundance, and in 1849 they erected a large melting establishment, for the purpose of boiling down the carcasses. The arrangements were very complete, the timber growing on the station being formed into casks; and the refuse of the carcasses after the tallow had been withdrawn, was used in fattening a large herd of swine and in manuring the land for cultivation. The building at present used as a soap-boiling and fell-mongering establishment, still surpasses all others in the district, even in its altered uses. A flourmill was also connected with the, that served for all the neighbouring stations. The motive power employed was steam, the engine being constructed on the direct rotary principle, one of the very few ever introduced and used in the colony. A large dam that still exists was made at a favourable spot on the creek, about a mile from the station. Its position and capacity are such – that a running stream of water at an elevation sufficient to flood the whole of the buildings, can be obtained throughout the summer. The natives at the first appearance of the whites were not very troublesome, at the same time it was thought advisable, without being unkind, to keep them at a respectful distance. A few sheep were occasionally missed, but no harsh measures had been resorted to stop the depredations. On the night of the 4th April, 1838, however, the whites at the home station were aroused from the “sweet sleep of the laboring man” for such a squatter’s life was in reality in those days, by the sad intelligence that Teddy, one of the shepherds, had been murdered by the blacks. The poor fellow’s mate had walked in from the hut by moonlight to tell of his companion’s fate. The spot where the hut stood – between Ballarat and Smythesdale, and about due west from Sebastapol, still records the sad tale, being named after the incident quoted, the “Murdering Valley.” The black, who committed the crime was caught, brought to the head station at Buninyong, and fastened by a chain until means could be found of bringing him to justice. Escaping from custody, but unable to detach the chain from his body, he plunged encumbered as he was into the River Leigh, on his way to his old haunts; the stream being flooded at the time the weight of the chain sank him before he could reach the other side, and he was drowned.

Three changes of sites were made altogether by Messrs. Learmonth before the present one was entered upon. The first store on the site of the present township of Buninyong was erected in somewhere about 1844 or 1845, and kept by Mr. Veitch, and the first church and school, under the auspices of Mr. Hastie, about 1847. The foregoing is the history in brief of Buninyong up to the time when the busy hum of the diggers began to be heard. The first Victorian alluvial gold-field of sufficient importance to create confidence in the minds of the public was discovered on the 10th August, 1851, on Learmonth’s run, about a mile and half from the township, by a person named Hiscock, after whom the diggings were named. Gold was early traced on the station, even quite close to the house, but it was then deemed a very unwelcome discovery, and kept as quiet as possible. It was not till auriferous leads were found to enter the property from several different quarters that permission was given to mine on the land itself, and then only on a limited scale. This portion of narrative brings us down to the period when the first projectors of the Buninyong Gold Mining Company began their operations. Hitherto the land had been occupied solely in growing wool from the ordinary sheep, the miner was now to come in and divide the heritage with the squatter, that he might search for and recover the far famed Golden Fleece.

ORIGIN OF THE BUNINYONG GOLD MINING COMPANY.
In the autumn of 1857, a lead of gold was struck, coming from the Hard Hills, near Buninyong, passing through a private property and into a portion of the Buninyong Station known as Learmonth’s paddock, comprising 146 acres. The privilege to extend over three years, of mining for gold in this paddock was obtained from Mr. Thomas Learmonth on the following terms –
Videlicet – five per cent on the gross yield of gold for the first year, seven and a half for the second and third, and a rental of 50s per week over the whole term. A company was formed under the above title, consisting of twenty-seven shareholders, in consideration of having brought the negotiations with Mr. Learmonth to a satisfactory termination.

Yield of Gold. The yield of gold from Learmonth’s Paddock, between the dates November, 1857, and March 1862, the period the shareholders of the Buninyong Company were at work upon it, was 23,272 oz. 9 dwt. 12 gr., sold for L92,387 17s 6d. Remarks – When the extent of ground and the secure title by which it is held are taken into consideration, the Buninyong Gold Mining Company, with its valuable property, if not the most important, may be reckoned, perhaps, the most extensive alluvial mining adventure in the whole of Victoria. It was no inconsiderable responsibility that was incurred at so early a period as 1858 – the purchase, for mining purposes alone, of 1163 acres, at a cost of L20 per acre. Although a Crown Grant was as good as a title to the land as could be held, it conferred no ownership in the gold, and it was never expected, at that time, encroachers from the outside could be baffled altogether in any other way than by a resort to the stratagems of the mines. No one then ever thought of having recourse to the law on such a point. The only law then considered was the legendary nine points that possession gave, and certainly those inside had always the advantage over those outside when once the former were down to the gutter.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 3 February 1864
ADVERTISEMENT. HEAVY DRAUGHT HORSES. Hepburn and Leonard will offer at their New Yards in Bath street, opposite Craig’s Royal Hotel Bazaar, on Saturday, the 6th February, by instructions of Messrs T. & S. Learmonth, 25 head of heavy draught colts and fillies, from their celebrated stud at Ercildoun. The auctioneers have much pleasure in recommending this fine lot of horses, as they are satisfied, from the great attention that the Messrs. Learmonth have paid to their breeding, and from the fact of their having imported from time to time from Scotland, some of the best sires and dams that could be obtained, of the pure Clydesdale breed, that they are not to be surpassed in the colony.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 5 February 1864
ADVERTISEMENT. HEPBURN AND LEONARD will OFFER, on the above date, at their new yards, at Ballarat 25 head of heavy hairy-legged draught horses. By instructions of Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, of Ercildoun. This fine lot of horses require no comment, as Messrs. Learmonth’s stud are now so well known as second to none in the colonies.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 17 February 1864
ADVERTISEMENT. FOR SALE – several Farms at Windermere.
Apply to Mr. Learmonth, Ercildoun.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 8 July 1864
WOOD’S POINT QUARTZ-MINING COMPANY. We, the undersigned, being a majority in number and value of the shareholders in the Wood’s Point Quartz-mining Company, hereby consent to the said COMPANY being REGISTERED under the provisions of the Mining Companies Limited Liability Act, 1864 ; and we authorize William Hayward Laby, the present manager of the company, to sign the memorial for the purpose of such registration. Dated this 15th day of June, A.D. 1864.
Signatures – Colin Ferguson McDougall, Edwd. McDermott, agent for Fitzherbert Dermott, Charles R. Godkin, Timy. Hurley, Timy. Hurley agent for John O’Donoghue. All witnessed by Wm. H. Laby.
MEMORIAL OF REGISTRATION.
Of the Wood’s Point Quartz-mining Company, of Wood’s Point. I, the undersigned William Hayward Laby, hereby make application to register the Wood’s Point Quartz-mining Company, “registered” under the provisions of the Mining Companies Limited Liability Act, 1864 ; and I do solemnly and sincerely declare that the following statement is, to the best of my belief and knowledge, true in every particular, namely:

1. The name and style of the company is “The Wood’s Point Quartz-mining Company.”
2. The place of operations is on the Morning Star Hill, on the left-hand branch of the Goulburn River, about half a mile from the township of Wood’s Point.
3. The nominal capital of the company is 17,600 pounds, in 704 shares of 25 pounds each.
4. The amount already paid up is 12,672 pounds.
5. The name of the manager is William Hayward Laby.
6. The office of the company is at the mine of the company.
7. The names and several residences of the share-holders, and the number of shares held by each at this date, are as follows :

Coling Ferguson McDougall, Wood’s Point
Timothy Hurley, Wood’s Point
Fitzherbert Dermott, St. Kilda
Alfred Chenery, Mansfield
Henry Casey, Wood’s Point
Charles Robert Godkin, Wood’s Point
Andrew James Learmonth, Ercildoun
David O’Connor, Wood’s Point
John O’Donoghue, Wood’s Point
Dated this fifteenth day of June, A.D. 1864.

WILLIAM HAYWARD LABY, Manager. Witness to signature – Fred Vester?, solicitor, Wood’s Point.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 11 July 1864
Excerpt – Half a dozen English sparrows were liberated by the Acclimatisation Society on Saturday, in Lyons Street.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 12 July 1864
COUNCIL OF BALLARATSHIRE. CORRESPONDENCE NO. 5.
From Messrs T. and S. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, making application that the Council would recommend to Government the sale of certain roads at Ercildoun (under the provisions of the Land Act, 1862), ending in and wholly surrounded by their purchased property.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 9 August 1864
THE FENCING AND IMPOUNDING ACTS – Excerpt – Mr. Thomas Learmonth took the chair and said the circumstances of the country were so changed since the passing of the Fencing and Impounding Act that it had been generally felt that some alterations in those acts were very desirable, if not indispensable. There was nothing in the Fencing Act to show what “secure fencing” was; and farmers were now also beginning to find it desirable to keep sheep, but the other act did not provide for the impounding of sheep. Anyone reading the police reports would see disputes were continually arising between neighbours as to what a secure fence was. His own idea was, that the burden of making secure fences should lie upon the owner of the land.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 22 August 1864
THE FENCING AND IMPOUNDING ACTS. MEETING OF FARMERS. Excerpt…the chair was taken by Mr Thomas Learmonth, of Ercildoun, J.P. As exemplifying the interest felt in the business for consideration, we may state that a very large portion of the district was represented at the meeting. Among those present were Messrs Fisken, of Lal Lal, President of the Buninyongshire Council; James Robertson, J. P., of Mount Mitchell, President of the Lextonshire Council; Thomas Waldie, of Mount Rowan; J. Dalgleish, President of the Ballarat Agricultural Society; J. Baird, J.P., President of the Ballaratshire Council; Duncan Robertson, A. Nicholsonson, of Ascot; J. Laidlaw, J.P.; J. McPhillimy, J.P.; D. Clyne; D. Swan, of Windermere; G. Innes, of Buninyong; D. McArthur, of Mount Rowan; W. Ecclestone; Donald Gunn, of Cardigan; J. McIntosh, J.P.; G. G. Morton, M.L.A.; J. Oddie, J.P., & c. Excerpt…The report, as already published in our columns, was then read by the chairman, who suggested that it would be desirable to discuss the two subjects separately. He thought that it should be held that fencing was a necessary thing, without which there could be no profitable occupation of the land. In France, the holdings were so small that the holders really could not fence, and thus women were seen knitting stockings and herding cattle, but he presumed that that style of agricultural life would hardly be acceptable or profitable here. It had been said that it was oppressive to compel holders to fence, but he would not see how that could be. It was an injustice to the adjoining neighbour if a holder, for want of fencing, allowed his cattle to trespass, and as to the relative duties of landlord and tenant they were for private arrangement, and were apart from the actual business of the meeting…

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 30 August 1864
Some few years ago a number of Murray cod were placed in Lake Burrumbeet, and in a pond belonging to Mr. Learmonth, at Ercildoun. Since that time there has been much speculation as to whether the fish had survived their sudden transportation from their native haunts. Sundry boatmen about the lakes have once or twice stated that they had seen some of the fish; but the evidence, on the whole, was not held to be very satisfactory, and the fate of the cod was still in debate. On Sunday last, however, very decisive evidence was obtained that some of the fish had survived, in the shape of a Murray cod weighing nine pounds, which was captured in Mr. Learmonth’s pond. The fish was sent to our office on Monday, by Mr. T. Learmonth, as an evidence of the success of the experiment, and received a cordial welcome by all persons interested in the development of our resources and acclimatization. This discovery in Mr. Learmonth’s pond goes far to show that the fish placed in Lake Burrumbeet have also survived, and doubtless before long, now that one discovery has been made, we shall hear more of the long missing fish, about whose fate many persons have been very much interested.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 31 August 1864, The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) 3 September 1864, The Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA) 3 September 1864
The latest news regarding the Acclimatisation of Murray Cod, a number of which were placed in Lake Burrumbeet, and in a pond belonging to Mr. Learmonth, at Ercildoun, made it in to some of the New South Wales and South Australian newspapers too. It was reported that one weighing 9 pounds was captured in the Ercildoun pond and that – “the promoters of the experiment must feel much gratified at its success, and we hope that it will be an inducement to further efforts to place fish in other suitable places.”

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 17 September 1864
WESTERN DISTRICT PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. More success at the Western District Pastoral and Agricultural Society Show for the Ercildoun Sheep and Bothwell the Stallion.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 12 October 1864
William Bruce gave notice that he is applying to the Justices sitting at the Court of Petty Sessions for a Certificate authorizing the issue of a Beer License for a house situated at Ercildoun known as the Ercildoun Store.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 14 October 1864
ADVERTISEMENT. SHEEP SHEARERS wanted at Ercildoun, Burrumbeet.
T. and S. Learmonth.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 21 October 1864
BALLARAT AGRICULTURAL SHOW. The Learmonths, usually amongst the principal exhibitors, did not enter any cattle or sheep in the Ballarat Agricultural Show.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 16 January 1865
SATURDAY, 21st JANUARY. To Farmers, Dealers, and Others. HEAVY DRAUGHT HORSES. HEPBURN and LEONARD have received instructions from Messrs T. and S. Learmonth, Ercildoun, to sell by public auction, at their yards, opposite Craig’s Royal Horse Bazaar, on Saturday the 24th instant, at twelve o’clock, 20 Head of First-class Heavy Draught Colts and Fillies, by the celebrated Entire Horses, WRESTLER and BOTHWELL. The character of the above horse stock is too well established to need further comment.

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) 18 January 1865
INTERCOLONIAL WOOL SHOW. First prize of £20 in Class I for the most valuable sixty ewes’ fleeces of washed wool awarded to W. Degraves & Co. Second prize of £10 awarded to T. & S. Learmonth. First prize of £20 in Class II regarding weight in lb. per bale, as equal to 12 months growth of wool, awarded to T. & S. Learmonth.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 27 January 1865
BALLARAT LIVE STOCK MARKET. HORSES. Besides the usual supply of inferior stock, a few lots of a better class were yarded, among them a small lot of draught colts from the well known stud of Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, Ercildoun, for which we had a lively competition, with very satisfactory results to the owners, considering the general tone of the horse market. Prices for 13 head medium to heavy draught ranged from £14 10s to £37 10s average £23 10s.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 24 February 1865, The Bendigo Advertiser (Vic) 28 February 1865. COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. Messrs Cunningham and Macredie report having sold Messrs Hervey and Cockburn’s stations Groongal and Bringagee, on the Murrumbidgee, with 7000 cattle and 30,300 sheep, to the Messrs Learmonth, of Ercildoun, for the sum of L109,300.

CSU Regional Archives & University Art Collelction –
The Learmonth brothers bought the lease to Groongal, and between 1868 and 1875 built an imposing two storied brick on a commanding site overlooking the Murrumbidgee River. They steadily acquired freehold title to some 300,000 acres (470 square miles approximately), embracing Groongal, Wyvern and Bringagee. In 1893 these three runs were carrying 45,000 breeding ewes. Groongal has a long history of riparian irrigation with Somerville Learmonth obtaining a license in 1898 under section 12 of the 1896 Water Rights Act.

The Illustrated Sydney News (NSW) 16 February 1865
EXHIBITION OF WOOL – The Intercolonial Wool Show. The result of the competition in the first class is favourable to the superiority of the French over the Australian sheep, and, also, that coarse wool is the most profitable to grow. The prize has been adjudged to the Rambouillet wool of Messrs. Degraves and Co., which, while of less value per lb. by 3½d than that of Messrs. Learmonth (who takes second place), has the advantage of heavier weight, and in consequence can fetch £2 per bale more than its rival. In the second class – fleeces in grease – Mr. Shaw, although noted for his purebred Australians, has to yield precedence to the Messrs. Learmonth. Mr. Shaw’s wool it appears is valued at only 10d. per lb. because of the great quantity of yolk which it contains, whilst Learmonth’s is valued at 1s 0¾d. The prize for washed fleece wool of the highest value per lb. will go to Tasmania, the winner being Mr. R.C. Kermode, who carries it off with his bale of mixed Australian and German, a superior wool to which has perhaps not been seen in the colony, and for some particular trade, might realize a very extraordinary price. The value placed upon it is 2s. 3½d. No doubt the absence of limit as to the number of sheep from which wool might be taken, and the size or weight of the pieces composing the bale, had something to do with the value of the exhibit.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 3 March 1865
BALLARAT. A warrant has been issued for the apprehension of two bullock drivers, who are stated to have left a log burning on the Ercildoun run. Several old colonists here said that the heat of Monday was quite equal to that of ‘Black Thursday’, but the fact of so much ground around Ballarat being at present clear of timber prevented the fire from being felt so oppressively as on that historically dangerous day.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 16 March 1865
SIR CHARLES DARLING AT BALLARAT. His Excellency Sir Charles Darling is now paying his second state visit to Ballarat.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 24 March 1865
AGRICULTURAL. The frightful bush fires, which raged throughout this district on Monday, 27th February, have created havoc, not only on pastoral but on agricultural lands, to a very large extent. Many farmers have had the whole of their crops, and others a portion of them, destroyed, and in several instances, houses, barns, and fences were also consumed. Several of the district squatters have been heavy losers in having their sheep burned, and the Messrs Learmonth, of Ercildoun, lost a flock of 1000 during the time the grass on their run was on fire.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 30 March 1865
THE PORT PHILLP SOCIETY’S ANNUAL GRAIN SHOW. The lack of grain entries was aparently very disappointing and it stated that the farmers who grow first-rate grain and root and similar things, do not care aparently to let it be known how they excel their fellows. Special mention was made of the quality of the cheeses and a few of the dealers present agreed in paying them the highest possible compliment by saying that they might easily be sold as English, and a cheese from a Warrnambool resident carried off first prize. The curers of ham had not yet reached perfection in their business. The white wine was made in 1864, principally from a variety of the Riesling, with a small proportion of the white Shiraz, and was in wonderfully good condition for a white wine of one year old. Two small packets of hops were sent down by Mr. Learmonth, from Ercildoun, but the flowers were small, and those of this year’s gathering had been somewhat scorched in the drying. The sample of last year’s growth was however, of better flavor and aroma.

Dr. Mueller sent in a collection of “useful plants” including arrowroot and ginger, liquorice and cotton, the veritable tea plant, besides sweet potatoes and some very fine leaves of different sorts of tobacco.

Prarie grass was the only grass able to withstand six months of heat and drought and had gained for itself the character of being absolutely the only imported grass able to withstand both together for any length of time. The English grasses and the clovers have had a severe trial this year, and all have failed except where the soil is unusually deep or moist.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 22 May 1865
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONFERENCE. Thomas Learmonth, J.P., presided over the Local Government Conference Committee Meeting.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 12 July 1865
Thomas Learmonth donated £10 to the Deaf and Dumb Institution for Maintenance.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 12 July 1865
MARRIAGE. On the 10th July, at the Manse, Learmonth, by the Rev Robert Hamilton, Mr William Bruce, store-keeper, Ercildoun, to Janet, daughter of Mr Samuel Cowan, of Ayr, Scotland.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 21 August 1865
Stock and Stations. BALLARAT – Messrs. LEARMONTH’S RAMS. King and Cuningham have received Instructions from Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, Ercildoun, to sell by Auction, at the Exhibition-yards, Ballarat, on Thursday, 7th September, 200 pure-blood Ercildoun rams, two tooth, 200 half-blood Ercildoun rams, two tooth. These sheep have never been diseased. About 10 pens of the choicest will be offered in lots of twos and threes. Attention is directed to the facilities offered by the railway for the transit of stock to different parts of the colony.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 4 September 1865
ADVERTISEMENT. Sale of Messrs. Learmonth’s Rams. 200 pureblood Ercildoun rams, two tooth, 200 half-blood Ercildoun rams, two tooth. These sheep have never been diseased. About 10 pens of the choicest will be offered in lots of twos and threes. Attention is directed to the facilities offered by the railway for the transit of stock to different parts of the colony.

Another advertisement was for a horse called Darkie. He was described as “A fine upstanding well bred brown horse, perfectly quiet to ride, and in single and double harness. The horse was exhibited in Melbourne and cost £200. He carried Gardiner all through his bushranging career.”

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 8 September 1865
BALLARAT AG. AND PASTORAL SOCIETY ANNUAL SHOW.
CLASS A – DRAUGHT HORSE STOCK. Thomas Learmonth is listed as one of the Judges in the Draught Horse Stock Class at The Ballarat Agricultural Society’s Annual Show.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 27 September 1865
KING AND CUNINGHAM are instructed by Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, to SELL, deliverable after shearing 5000 full-mouthed ewes, in lamb to pureblood Ercildoun rams. These ewes are open for inspection now, and will be ready for delivery in December. The rams will not be put amongst them until they are approved. Early application is therefore necessary. Apply at our offices, 67 Bourke-street west, Melbourne.

The Geelong Advertiser (Vic.) 11 November 1865.
The Melbourne correspondent of the Hamilton Spectator says – “Unhappily, we find that dry seasons in this country come at intervals, and continue from 3 to 5 years. Looking at a letter written in 1858 by an old settler, Mr Thomas Learmonth, of Ercildoun, Burrumbeet, I find him stating that the years 1837-1841 were extremely dry. In 1837 to 1838, he says – ‘The Moorabool did run in these years, and the Leigh and Barwon only a few weeks, and then not more than knee deep. There was a very severe drought in the New South Wales district at the time, and large quantitites of sheep and cattle died in consequence. This colony did not suffer in the same degree ; but, as I have already stated, there were five years consecutively that were extremely dry.’”

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 13 December 1865
NEWS AND NOTES. We are informed that Mr Thomas Learmonth, J.P., Ercildoun, has within the last week received numerous private solicitations from several parts of the Ripon and Hampden electoral district to allow himself to be placed in nomination for that district at the general election. Though Mr Learmonth has expressed a disinclination to enter into a political contest, his friends continue to urge him very strongly to comply with their request, and it is not improbable that his name may be announced in the course of a few days as a candidate for parliamentary honors. We are sorry to see that gentlemen of position display a desire to avoid taking part in political action, even at the present time, and we can only say, that if they will not take part in the business of the country they have no right to complain if it is carried on by inferior and unscrupulous men, who will promise anything to get returned.

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) 14 December 1865
VICTORIA. Excerpts – According to the Grenville Advocate, Mr. Thomas Learmonth, of Ercildoun, has re-considered his determination, and will contest Ripon and Hampden with Mr. Longmore, whose supporters are about to present him with a considerable sum of money…

(Mr. T. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, has, in a most gentlemanly letter, declined to stand for Ripon and Hampden; but he hopes that a class of men will be returned at the next elections that will not set law and order at defiance, but will be sufficiently intelligent to comprehend the result of their own acts. )

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 14 December 1865
NEWS OF THE DAY. Excerpt – Mr. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, has at length consented to oppose Mr. Longmore at Ripon and Hampden, but it is generally understood that he is leading a forlorn hope.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 21 December 1865
BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. RIPON AND HAMPDEN, MORTLAKE, WEDNESDAY. The candidates nominated for this constituency are Thomas Learmonth, of Ercildoun and Frances Longmore, of Ballarat. The polling will take place at Burrumbete, Camperdown, Carngham, Darlington, Lismore, Miners’ Rest, Mortlake, Raglan, Skipton, Streatham, Terang, and Wickliffe. Mr. Learmonth arrived here this morning, with a large escort of electors. There was great confusion and much annoyance, owing to the Ministerial arrangements as to the election. A telegram has been received from Mortlake, to the effect that a protest has been entered, by Mr. Longmore, against Mr. Learmonth’s nomination being accepted, on the ground that the returning officer had failed to give notice of the election, as required by law. This is said to be “a dedge.”

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 27 December 1865
Letter from Thomas Learmonth. TO THE ELECTORS OF RIPON AND HAMPDEN. GENTLEMEN, It is with much reluctance, and only at the urgent request of many friends, whose good opinion I value, that I have consented to relinquish the habits and pursuits of private life, which are more congenial to me, and for which I am better fitted than for those of public life, in order to solicit your suffrages at the ensuing election. I do so as a perfectly independent man – bound to no party whatever. I have no favor to gain, nor have I any private interest to seek.

I present myself to you, as an advocate of free trade, believing that the protection of some must mean the injury of others, and that more industry and capital are unfettered, and the greater will be the general prosperity of the country. If, however, it so happens that exceptional circumstances should cause the people of this colony to desire a measure of protection, let them have it, only I say that such alteration in our fiscal policy should be carried out calmly, wisely, and with deliberation. It should not be brought about with unseemly haste or by party violence – much less by striking at the independence of the judges or by setting aside the decisions of the courts of law, a reverence for which is taught to every Englishman as the surest safeguard of our lives and liberties. I desire neither to think nor speak bitter things of one party or another, but I trust that truly conscientious men may be placed in the direction of affairs at the present moment, and that wisdom may be given them wisely to deliberate and decide affairs so as to truly promote the peace and prosperity of the country. It is in this way I desire to act and not in any spirit of opposition to those who now hold the reins of Government either in their public or private capacities. On the various political topics of the day, such as the Land Act, the Local Government Act, &c., I hope to have an early opportunity of addressing you. I am, Gentlemen, Your most obedient servant, THOMAS LEARMONTH. Ercildoun, 14th December, 1865

A list of 120 signatures were printed stating that “The undersigned hereby agree to act on a committee to promote the return of Mr. THOMAS LEARMONTH, of Ercildoun, as representative in the Legislative Assembly, for the electoral district of Ripon and Hampden, at the coming general election.

The Star (Ballarat, Vic.) 24 August 1865
THE AUSTRALIAN MERINO IN AMERICA. Mr. Thomas Learmonth has kindly handed to us some documents relative to a shipment of Victorian Merino sheep, taken by Dr. Kenworthy to New York some time ago. Dr. Kenworthy placed the sheep in the hands of Mr. Randall, the author of several excellent works on sheep breeding and management, and editor of the Rural New Yorker. Previous to the arrival of the sheep, Mr. Randall published the following notice respecting them in the Rural New Yorker: –

NEW IMPORTATION OF SHEEP – An American gentleman, Dr. Charles J. Kenworthy, who has resided for some years in Australia, is now on his return from that country, and is bringing with him specimens of merino sheep from the three most celebrated flocks of Australia – those of Mr. Learmonth, Mr. Currie and Mr. Shaw – all pure descendants of the Camden flock. The Camden flock was established with sheep purchased by Mr. Macarthur from the Negretti flock introduced from Spain by George III, King of England. The sheep being imported by Dr. Kenworthy are, in all instances, the pick of the flocks, and in several instances the same ones which have received the first prizes at the great intercolonial and other shows. They were sheep which money could not buy, but were generously presented to their present owner by the distinguished breeders named. As soon as we ascertain their safe arrival, we shall give a full history of the sheep and the importation. We have received specimens of their wool. It is essentially different from any we have seen grown in the United States. We often see that which is as fine in the diameter of the fibre, but for softness and style, it is almost incomparable – and then, at a year’s growth, considerable of it, is four inches long. For delaines of exquisite quality, and for any other fabrics, which require a staple of remarkable quality and length combined, we have nothing like it. If then these Australian Merinos succeed in our country, they will render us, in time, independent of other countries in the production of the materials for fabrics, which we now must import and pay for in gold in other countries. Let us then welcome these strangers to our shores. They will compete with nothing, which we now possess. There is abundance of room for them, and for every other breed of stock, which meets any want of the American people. If we find them unconformed to American ideas of Merino Breeding, let us neither ridicule nor condemn them, until we have paused for intelligent experiment to decide whether they are useful. We hope they will be here in time for exhibition at the New York Spring Show and Fair in May next.

The following letter from Mr. Randall describes the shearing of the sheep and its results: Cortland Village, New York, 25th May, 1865.
My Dear Sir, – I came from my farm late last evening, where I have been superintending the shearing of some sheep. Yours were sheared on Monday. I think I have left the memorandum of the weight of fleeces at the farm. The heaviest fleeces were from the Learmonth ewes. One I think yielded 4lb. 9oz. The ram yielded over 5lbs.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 29 January 1866
Mr. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, is the donor of the munificent sum of £100 towards the funds of the Ballarat District Orphan Asylum.

Papers Past, Lyttelton Times (New Zealand) 12 March 1866
EXHIBITIONS. INTERCOLONIAL EXHIBITION OF AUSTRALASIA. An exhibition of the Products, Manufactures, and Arts of New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and Victoria, will be held in Melbourne in 1866. The exhibition will open not earlier than the month of August, and will remain open for not less than two months.

It is proposed that an EXHIBITION OF MERINO WOOL, open to the whole World, shall be held in LONDON, in AUGUST, 1867; and that PRIZES shall be awarded. The following gentlemen in London, have been requested to act as a committee, with power to add to their number John W. McLaren, Esq., (Messrs. James Morrison and Co.), F. G. Dalgety, Esq. (Messrs. Dalgety and Co.), F. Huth, Esq. (Messrs. F. Huth and Co.), David Aitchison, Esq. (Australian Mortgage Land and Finance Company), B. Ronald, Esq. do do, E. R. Bostock, Esq., Edward Yule, Esq., A. Elder, Esq., Edward Hamilton, Esq. M.P., – Gilchrist, Esq., Mathew Henry March, Esq. M.P., Arthur Hodgson, Esq., Sir Charles Clifford, John Morrison, Esq. Messrs. Fruhlen and Goschen, THOMAS LEARMONTH, Phillip Russell, SAMUEL WILSON, William Cumming, A. S. Robertson, WM. Macredie. Melbourne, 12th Dec. 1865.

NOTICE – In connection with the Universal Exhibition of Merino Wool, AN INTERCOLONNIAL EXHIBITION, under the auspices of the Ballaarat and other Pastoral and Agricultural Societies of these Colonies, will be held in the Wool Stores of Messrs. Cunningham and Macredie, in this City, on Wednesday 16th January, 1867, when Prizes will be awarded for the most valuable Bales of Washed and Greasy Wool, and for the Wool that is of the highest value per pound.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 24 March 1866
To Farmers, Capitalists and Others seeking Sure and Remunerative Investments. SALE BY AUCTION OF EXCEEDINGLY VALUABLE AND DESIRABLE FREEHOLD FARMS, Situate in the fertile parishes of Ercildoun and Burrumbeet. F. Everingham has been favored with instructions from Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, to sell by auction, at Craig’s Royal Hotel, on Saturday, 24th March, commencing at twelve o’clock noon precisely, the following very choice AGRICULTURAL FARMS, in lots as hereunder mentioned, together with all buildings and improvements thereon, particulars of which will be fully described on the day of the sale. The auctioneer would refrain from commenting on the above properties, were it not necessary to give some information of the property to people who have not had the pleasure of glancing over the luxuriant and productive fields in Ercildoun and Burrumbeet, which are acknowledged by all who have seen them to be the best average grain-growing districts in the colony. The farms are all in a high state of cultivation, and have been worked on the four-course system, and not impoverished as many farms have been, by continual hay cropping. The soil is of that description so much sought after by farmers of experience in this colony, viz., rich chocolate, with a depth far beyond the reach of the ploughshare. The farms are abundantly watered (and as now let), have all the necessary improvements for carrying on farming operations systematically. Any further information may be had, by applying at the office of F. Everingham, the auctioneer. Terms exceedingly liberal, declared at sale.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 24 March 1866
Monday, 26th March. At Twelve o’clock. At the Mining Exchange, Ballarat. James Baker has received instructions to sell by public auction, on the above date, Twenty 20-4000th Shares in the BUNINYONG GOLD MINING COMPANY, (Registered), Buninyong, at the risk of Mr. Michael Walsh, Terms at sale.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 17 May 1866
In the Legislative Assembly yesterday. On the vote of £2,950 for the Acclimatisation Society, Mr. Longmore objected that the Acclimatisation Society had spent large sums of public money, and had not done as much good as many private individuals. They had introduced monkeys, rabbits, and Egyptian geese, which were not wanted, and had held a couple of dog shows, when the dogs were, a nuisance in the streets. Private persons, by introducing bulls and horses, had done far more good than the society. Mr. Bindon explained that the society had nothing to do with the introduction of monkeys or rabbits. He quite agreed with the hon. Member that persons who had introduced bulls had conferred great benefits to the country, but as a rule such enterprising persons were the principal supporters of the society. With regard to the dog shows, so far from spending public money over them, the society had made £100 profit by them. The society had been largely instrumental in introducing the alpaca, Angora goat, and salmon. The utilitarian character of those achievements could not be over-estimated.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 17 May 1866
A meeting of the committee for the universal exhibition of merino wool was held yesterday at the Australasian Wool Stores; Present – Mr. Thos. Learmonth, of Ercildoun (in the chair), Mr. Philip Russell, Mr. A. S. Robertson, Mr. Thos. Shaw, Mr. Wm. Macredie. The following men made up the committee: The Hon. W. Degraves, Mr. George Cumming, and Mr. John Cumming, of Darlington; Mr. Mackersey, of Cavendish; Mr. Chas. Officer, of Mount Talbot; Mr. J. L. Currie, of Lara; Mr. Adam Smith, of Apsley; Mr. Robert Simson, of Langi Kalkal; Mr. C. H. Macknight, of Dunmore; Mr. John Winter, Jun., of Colbinabbin.

It makes mention that “His Majesty the Emperor of the French be requested in carrying out the objects of the exhibition.”

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 25 May 1866
The Committee of the Ballarat Bible and Tract Society has received a most encouraging report from the Rev. R. T. Cummins and Joseph Attwood Doane appointed to wait upon the principal residents for subscriptions and donations…which amounted to over £92 including £50 from Mr. Thomas Learmonth, of Ercildoun.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 15 June 1866
ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY. A letter was read from the Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society, asking that Mr. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, might be allowed to purchase twelve pure Angora goats, in order to carry on the breeding of them at Ercildoun. Although there was a strong feeling in favor of letting such an eminent breeder as Mr. Learmonth have the goats, it was ultimately decided that the society should not part with any of these valuable animals until the breeding stock amounted to at least 200 ewes.

A lengthened conversation took place as to the advisability of forming a regular zoological collection at the society’s gardens, Royal-park, and strong arguments were brought forward in support of this view, but nothing definite was decided upon, the discussions being postponed. The superintendent reported the birth of an Axis fawn, and the arrival of two pairs of Wonga pigeons from Mr. Moore, of Sydney.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 26 June 1866
Ploughing Match. Tynan’s ploughs as usual were present in the greatest number, there being in the three classes fourteen implements by that maker. The other ploughs were, five Sellars, four by Jamieson, and one by Grant and Lennan respectively. The prizes in Class A are the gifts of Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, of Ercildoun. First prize £6, second do £4, third do a Scotch collar presented by Messrs. Kilmister and Purdue; fourth do, a silver mounted Scotch bridle, presented by Messrs. Allan and Dunn. First prize John Draffin, ploughman; David Draffin, owner; Tynan, maker.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 10 October 1866
ELECTION NOTICES. Election for the South-Western Province. To Charles Ibbotson, Esq., Mayor of Newtown and Chilwell; Gilbert Duncan, Esq., Mayor of Ballarat; Geo. Clendenning, Esq., Mayor of Ballarat East; R. De Bruce Johnstone, Esq., Mayor of Geelong; and the 386 gentlemen resident in Geelong, Colac, Ballarat, Warrenheip, Western-road, &c., electors of the South-Western Province, who have signed the various requisitions that have been placed in my hands.
Gentlemen,
It is with much reluctance that, at your desire, I leave the seclusion of the life I have hitherto led among you as a private citizen. I am aware that you repose this confidence in me, not from any peculiar fitness in myself for the office you wish me to seek, but because I have lived among you these many years, and have feelings and interests identical with your own. I feel that it is also because, having a deep stake in the country, you wish me to stand by you in a time of danger, that we may together uphold constitutional government and maintain reverence for the law. On the political questions that have agitated the country during the last eighteen months you already know my sentiments. I come before you as a free trader. But at the same time I say, that if we are to have protection, let it be protection for all. Let us protect the agricultural above any other class. Why should we not? Why not have a bread tax, and a meat tax, as well as a tax on wearing apparel and other necessaries of life, in order to encourage native industry? That, indeed, would be equal justice, if justice it can be called. But, gentlemen, I cannot think that the country is prepared for such a suicidal measure. I think that there is much misapprehension on this point, and therefore I advocate the principles of free trade to their fullest extent, and believe that these great truths are of universal application – that they are adapted to all countries and all circumstances. I believe that it is not the province of Government to create monopolies, but to encourage the freest exercise of enterprise, capital and industry; and that in proportion as this is done so will our resources be called forth, and the prosperity of the country will rest on a sure foundation. Allow me to say further, gentlemen, that for a community of Englishmen to revive fallacies regarding the application of capital and labour, and the free interchange of commodities, that have been exploded over and over again for the greatest thinkers of modern times, is, to me, one of the strangest developments of the age we live in. With regard to the reform of the Upper House, about which so much has been said, I am willing that such modifications should be made in the franchise as would meet the altered circumstances of the colony since the Act of the Constitution was framed; but I could not consent to make it a mere echo of the Lower House of Assembly. To do so would be virtually to destroy its functions, and take away from us the only safeguard of our liberties in times of popular excitement and error. Holding these sentiments, and at the same time anxious to promote in a constitutional manner all liberal measures, that may tend to the progress and welfare of the country, I offer myself as a candidate for your suffrages. And remain, gentlemen, Your obedient servant, THOMAS LEARMONTH. Ercildoun, 25th August, 1866.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 15 September 1866
THE SKIPTON SHEEP SHOW. The champion ram was chosen from a pen of first-prize aged rams belonging to Mr. J. L. Currie, and, with the rest of the pen, it was a really excellent model of quantity and quality combined. In this class, for aged rams, a good opinion may be formed of the closeness of the competition from the fact that a magnificent pen of Messrs. Learmonths’ rams, showing both breed and quality, only attained fifth place. In all the other classes the Messrs. Learmonth obtained the first honours, winning also the champion prize for the best ewe in the yard.

It stated that the judges were much divided in opinion between the champion ewe and one of Mr. John Cumming’s and that the judge had every reason to feel themselves placed in a difficulty, for both exhibits were very evenly matched. Should the breeding of sheep advance – as the Skipton shows for some years past demonstrate that it most unquestionably has advanced – such difficulties in choice will become one of the features at future exhibitions ; and the wool export trade of the colony – second only in importance to that of gold – will be viewed with a wider regard in other countries than even now. The sale of the rams was held in the afternoon, and in the evening the annual dinner took place at the Ripon Hotel.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 26 September 1866
The Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society Annual Show.
Class D. Neat Cattle. Hereford bull, aged (imported or colonial) First prize £6 to T. and S. Learmonth, Ercildoun, for their Hereford bull under three years old, bred at Ercildoun, by Egerton, an imported Hereford bull. First prize £5 for their Hereford cow, aged (imported or colonial). First prize £2 for their pure Hereford heifer, bred at Ercildoun. First prize £2 for their pure Hereford yearling heifer, bred at Ercildoun. Class E. Sheep. First prize £8 for the best three Merino rams of any age. First prize of £8 for the best three Merino ewes. First prize of £8 for the best three Merino rams, two-tooth. Second prize of £4 for the best three Merino ewes, two-tooth. First prize went to John Bell, half and quarter-bred Steiger. Two Champion prizes for the best Merino ram shown in the yard and for the best Merino ewe of £5 each.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 26 September 1866
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. MR LEARMONTH AND MR ROLFE.
Sirs, In the approaching contest for the representation of the South-Western Province it is highly desirable that the real question at issue should be kept prominently before the electors, and that they should not be led away from it by the specious clap-trap which certain designing politicians know so well to use. One section of the ministerialists maintain that the question about to be fought is that of protection versus free-trade, while another says that it is the people versus the squatters. By putting these cries prominently forward it is hoped that a few of the more ignorant of the electors will be so far deluded as to vote for Mr. Rolfe, either on the ground that he is a protectionist, or against Mr. Learmonth, because they say he is a squatter. As regards the question of free-trade and protection, the supporters of the latter policy make a great mistake in supposing that it is of much importance to them to get the Council filled with members holding their views. The Upper House does not initiate the policy of the country. It never has done so, and never will do so. Its duty is simply to check hasty legislation, whether it be introduced by the protectionists or the free-traders of the Assembly, and to see it possible that no measure becomes law till the country is fairly ripe for it. As it is well known and admitted even by the more knowing of the protectionists themselves, that one of the greatest dangers to the cause of protection is the rashness and injudicious haste of many of its advocates, it seems to me that a free-trade member of the Upper House, of a quiet and moderate turn of mind, is more likely to advance the real interests of protection, than an extreme and injudicious protectionist; for it must be remembered that whenever the country pronounces decisively and clearly for any policy, so long as that policy is constitutional, the Upper House will not oppose it, but will pass it as it lately passed the tariff. But the greatest objection to Mr. Learmonth is an insuperable one, say the rabid ministerialists. He is a squatter, and therefore an enemy of the people in general, and of the Land Act in particular. To this I simply reply that Mr. Learmonth is not a squatter, and is not opposed to the Land Act. A squatter is one who occupies Crown lands, which it is his interest, of course, to occupy as cheaply and as long as possible. Now, Mr. Learmonth owns the land he occupies, having purchased it from the Crown, and the Land Act of Mr. Grant affects him as much as it does a freeholder in Lydiard street or the Main road, and no more. More than this – Mr. Learmonth in his contest at the last general election with Mr. Longmore, distinctly repudiated having the slightest intention of opposing or upsetting the Land Act, and said that if returned, he would support the honest administration of that measure, so far as it lay in his power. So much then for this bug-bear of Mr. Learmonth’s enemies. It is neither love for the Land Act, nor a desire for protection, that animates the breasts of Mr. Learmonth’s opponents, whatever it may be with some of their deluded followers. No, Sir, the ground of the opposition to him lies deeper still. Mr. Learmonth is an uncompromising supporter of the law and the Constitution; that if the Constitution be imperfect, it must be amended in a constitutional manner, and not broken to suit the wretched exigencies of a baffled faction; that, however powerful a party or a ministry may be, there is one thing which in a British community is more powerful still, and that is the law. It is because Mr. Learmonth holds these views – because he wishes to see the Constitution respected and the law upheld, that he is opposed so virulently and denounced so unsparingly. And it is because Mr. Rolfe is on the other side – because he adopts Mr. Higinbotham’s view, that there is no necessity for an Upper House, and that it should be regarded as a nullity, and that the law should be respected only so long as it accords with the views of the Ministry. It is because Mr. Rolfe allows himself to be made the humble tool of the party holding these views that he now comes before the electors of the South-Western Province with all the weight and authority of a ministerial candidate, and asks them to choose him in preference to a gentleman like Mr. Learmonth. I trust the result of the polling will show Mr. Rolfe that he has mistaken his constituency, and that the electors of the South-Western Province have too much intelligence and too great a love for the glorious principles of the British Constitution to be hoodwinked by any of the specious misstatements so plentifully and assiduously placed before them either by him or his paid and unpaid agents. I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, CONSTITUTION.

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 4 October 1866
COUNTRY NEWS. THE DOG NUISANCE. On 28th September, thirty purebred Merino sheep, the property of Messrs Learmonth at Ercildoun, were worried by dogs. These valuable sheep were depasturing in the White Stone Lagoon paddock, and every attention possible was being paid to them, as they were a choice lot, and for which the Messrs Learmonth had been offered £5 per head as lambs. There is a strong suspicion that this wholesale slaughter was committed by some of the dogs from the Springs, which dogs infest the neighborhood to the danger of such valuable property as that just sacrificed. This is not the first time the Messrs Learmonth have been the sufferers from a similar cause, and it is to be hoped that the owners of the dogs will be found, and such an example made as will deter others from allowing their dogs to be at large, to the detriment of their neighbors. A reward of £5 has been offered to any person who will give such information as will lead to prove the ownership of the dogs. Ballarat Star, October 3rd.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 17 November 1866
The Merino in Victoria. THE ERCILDOUN FLOCK. What the Camden sheep have done for New South Wales the Australian merinos bred by Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth have done for Victoria, the sheep owners of this colony being far more indebted to these gentlemen than to any other breeders or importers here for the improvements of their flocks. It naturally follows, then, that after the short sketch of the sheep now at Dunmore, I must give in a few words of the history of the Ercildoun sheep, for the information of those not already acquainted with it. The mode of breeding adopted by the Messrs. Learmonth is pretty generally known. Believing as they do in the peculiar and especial merits of the climate of these colonies, they have had no admixture of foreign blood for many years past, but trust altogether to careful selection, and the weeding, when necessary, of pure animals of their own breeding, for keeping up their stud flocks. And this system, and the fine pastures over which the sheep range, although even these failed last year, have been all sufficient, as the prize lists each year of Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, and Skipton, and the prices obtained for the thousands of rams sold, very plainly testify. But before saying more of the mode of breeding, it will be better to show from what strains of blood the flock is derived.

Originally there were two flocks, the one made up of selections from different flocks in Tasmania, and the other descended from a few pure sheep, and with the last alone I have now to do, as the other was disposed of some years ago. The present flock, then, of pure or pedigree sheep is derived from the descendants of animals selected in Germany and taken to Tasmania, nearly forty years since, by Mrs. Forlonge, mother to the gentleman so well known here in connexion with squatting pursuits. This little flock was kept pure, and afterwards sent over to this colony and established at Werribee, and the first rams were sold from it somewhere about the year 1840. It became the property of Captains Montagu and Swanston, and was not long at the Werribee before it was divided, the one half going to the care of Mr. Mitchell, at Mount Macedon, the other half to the station of Messrs. Swanston and Willis, on the Glenelg. In 1846, the portion at Mount Macedon had increased to about 500, and was purchased by the Messrs. Learmonth. For the ewes so obtained, rams were selected by Mr. Shaw, senior, in Tasmania; all of Mr. Kermode’s breeding, and afterwards some rams were selected by the same gentleman from the Camden flock at Mount Hope. This obtaining of rams from a distance was only practical during a few years, since which time no fresh blood has been admitted, excepting on one occasion, when a ram, the produce of sheep imported from Germany by Captain Stanley Carr, of which I will have more to say by and by, was used for a while. This was an animal aparently of great merit, but his progeny were not equal to those of pure Ercildoun blood, and were all discarded from the breeding flock. During the last few years there has been a marked improvement in the length of the wool and the weight of the fleece, but whether owing to the mode of breeding and system of selection within their own blood, or to the climate and pasture, or to all these causes combined, it is hard to say. Certain it is that the improvement is very marked, and the blood must be right, or other flocks would not have derived such benefit as they have from the use of Ercildoun rams. There are now 1,485 breeding ewes, besides the young ones coming on, and the usual proportion of young and reserved rams, so that there is ample room for weeding, and for the proper mating of animals with the desired peculiarities. This can only be done thoroughly and effectually when a flock becomes tolerably large, before which time the niceties and minutiae of breeding are out of the question. Excellent individual animals have always been produce-able from Ercildoun, but now uniformity of excellence will begin to be looked for. So highly is the blood of Mr. Kermode’s sheep valued by the Messrs. Learmonth, that, besides their own pure flock, they have now a small flock entirely of that strain descended from ewes picked for them by Mr. Thos. Shaw, junior, a few years since in Tasmania, before Mr. Kermode began to use German blood so freely, and thus to spoil his sheep, according to the admirers of Australian merinos. With these ewes no other than rams of their own blood are used, so that this will afford a fair test of the advantages or disadvantages of in-breeding from a most valuable strain of blood, as this undoubtedly is. Of the exact origin of Mr. Kermode’s sheep I can learn nothing for certain, but know that they, like many others of the Tasmania flocks, were good long before settlement commenced here, and the blood leaves its mark indelibly wherever it is introduced, showing beyond all other strains its right to the attribute of high quality. In Tasmania these sheep are rather small, and it will be seen how much they can be increased in size and improved in other respects by change of pasture and climates. Of the appearance of the Ercildoun sheep I need scarcely speak, so well are they known. Their large size is attributed, and no doubt, justly, to the abundance of feed which they usually have, but they are not pampered in any way, and have to take their chance of the vicissitudes of the seasons. They have a fine richly grassed country to run over, but last year there was such a scarcity of feed that the wool was falling off the sheeps’ backs from actual starvation. Nor need I say much about the wool, which is all of the true Australian character, long, and at the same time fine combing wool, with great softness and strength of staple. It is aparently becoming longer every year the difference in length between samples saved ten years ago and those taken now being very great, and being quite apparent between those of the intermediate years. Although, if we are to take the opinion of the judges at the exhibition of Victorian wools, held in January, 1853, at Clough’s Warehouse, there was little room for improvement even then, as they say in their report of the first prize eighty fleeces of washed wool.

“We consider this to be the best sample of wool ever exhibited in the colony. Its quality, length of staple, and condition precisely meet all the requirements of the manufacturer. The staple, whilst of extraordinary length, retains the soft and silky feel requisite for the manufacture of the finest fabrics. In short, in every particular this sample is exceptional, and we have never, either here or elsewhere, seen a wool the growth of which it is more desirable to encourage.” And again of the greasy wool they say, – “A beautifully bred wool, and commendable in every respect for quality, length, strength, and body. It comprises every requisite that can be desired for manufacturing purposes.”

On that occasion the Messrs. Learmonth took the first prize in both classes, while at the Intercolonial Show in 1865 they stood second on the list to Mr. Degraves for washed wool, and first for unwashed wool. Of the five judges last time only two were the same as before, yet they report in nearly similar though briefer terms of the washed fleeces – “Superior combing and quality, fair condition, a very desirable wool;” and of the unwashed “Superior quality, good combing.” So much for the judges’ opinions of Australian wool, and, through Mr. Thomas Learmonth’s kindness, I am enabled to give the actual weight obtained and the money returns. In 1862 there were 8,430 sheep shorn at Ercildoun, including 3,000 lambs, and they yielded an average of 2¼lb. of clean spout-washed wool all round. The actual sum obtained that year was not entered in the books, but it has been since, and so can be given for the next two years. In 1863 there were 12,155 sheep and 6,924 lambs shorn, yielding for the former 39,394lb., and for the latter 12,306lb. of wool, or an average of 3lb. 4oz. for each sheep, and 1lb. 12½ oz. for each lamb. It will be seen by a comparison of these numbers that several thousand ewes had been purchased for the purpose of stocking up the run, and that there were consequently a very large proportion of ewes, which had reared lambs, and a very small proportion of young ewes and wedders, to yield heavy fleeces and keep up the average. However, even so, the 51,700lb. of wool from old and young netted in London £6,537 14s. 6d., or 6s. 9½d. per head. During the next year, 1864, there were 24,077 sheep shorn for 68,563lb. Of wool, and 6,806 lambs for 9,299lb., the former giving an average of 2lb. 14oz., and the latter 1lb. 6oz. per head. This low average was caused partly, as before, by the number of breeding ewes, and very much by the prevalence that year of ticks. Which are nearly as bad as scab for worrying the sheep and reducing the weight of wool, notwithstanding the falling off in weight, the money return was nearly as great as in the previous year, the 77,862lb. of wool producing £8,711 16s. 10d. or 6s. 8d. per head, only three halfpence a sheep less. In 1865, the yield from 26,916 sheep was 83,933lb. of wool, an average of 3lb. 2oz., and from 7,660 lambs 9,895lb., or an average of 1lb. 5oz. per head. Thus the general average on the year had increased nearly 3oz., although the season was so unfavourable for all, and the lambs yielded 1oz. less. The returns for last year not being complete, the exact money yield cannot be given. Had not Mr. Learmonth been satisfied to trust to the well-established character of his pure flock these figures would have been withheld from the public, as on this is thrown the onus of keeping up the average both of price and weight for a very large proportion of breeding ewes, purchased from different quarters, and of course very inferior. The process of stocking-up prevents, too, the drafting of many light-fleeced and otherwise objectionable sheep, but now the young stock by the Ercildoun rams are coming forward, and the returns of the next two or three years will tell a different tale.

Before leaving this branch of the subject for the present, I may remind my readers of the expressed opinion of the judges at the Intercolonial Show on the wool of Mr. Kermode’s sheep. After awarding it the prize for washed wool of the highest value per lb., they conclude their report by saying that they had considerable difficulty in valuing this lot, as a wool with all its properties had never been shown in Melbourne before, and for some particular trades it might realize a very high price. Such being the importance of this flock in the eyes of experts all admirers of pure Australian wool will be much interested in the well-being and progress of the branch now located here.

THE ERCILDOUN SHEEPWASH. The Messrs. Learmonth were amongst the first to try spouts in this colony, but they have had reason to change their plans even up to the present year. At first cold water was used, and the sheep were made to stand under the spouts. Now the object with them, and with all other flock owners in this part of the country who get up their wool well, is to soak the sheep in tepid water first, then to complete the process of washing as quickly and with as little inconvenience to the animal as possible, for so the wool comes out brightest. With this view the soaking pen is but a short distance from the spouts, and is connected with them by a narrow race, so narrow that the sheep have to swim through it in single file, with the nose of one resting on the back of another. At the end of the race they walk up an incline to a small platform, from which there is a shoot to each of the three spouts, but they are not allowed out of the warm water until a very short time before they are plunged into the cold, and submitted to the action of the spouts. When spouted sufficiently, they are allowed to leave the water at once, not being obliged to take a long swim, as used to be deemed requisite, here as elsewhere. When thus treated the sheep leave the water with a fine rosy skin, are never seen to shiver with the cold, and the drowning of one is a rare occurrence, so little are they from under the eyes or hands of the men. As at Dunmore, there is a small hydraulic ram to raise water for sprinkling the sheep a little while before they are thrown into the soaking-pen, and cold water is used for this purpose. The washing place consists, then, of the soaking-pen with the narrow race from it, both deep enough to prevent the sheep from touching the bottom or being hurt against it when thrown in, the intermediate platform with standing-room for eight or ten sheep, and the pens full of cold water in which the sheep float while under the spouts. Of these there are three, one so far below the level of the two others as to allow of the water from them flowing through it, and so being used twice over. Here there are about 750 gallons being discharged in a minute when the spouts are full; but this placing of one spout at a lower level than the other permits the use of two when there is only water enough for one, if allowed for flow away at once, and this is a matter of great consequence when the supply is limited. The spouts used as yet are open, but the next improvement will probably be to convert these into boxes, as the narrow race has this year been adopted from the Dunmore washing-place.

The water here is all that could be desired in regard to softness still both soap and soda are used. The soaking pen holds, when up to what may be called working level, about 1,200 gallons, and to this quantity of water are added 9lb. of soap and 8lb. of soda, these proving to be the best proportions. The water is heated to 110°F before the sheep are thrown in, and is changed six times during the day, it being found here, as at so many other places, that if the soaking pen is allowed to become very dirty, much time is lost in making the wool even passably white under the spouts. The time occupied in changing the water is about eleven minutes, and this is not lost, for the first sheep through are washed very quickly, as they are also the whitest. None of the sheep are kept in the water more than five or six minutes, and a thousand are put through in about ten hours, by eleven or twelve men. The wool comes out beautifully bright after this quick process of washing, and by it there is yolk enough left to prevent the slightest degree of harshness, even if shorn off immediately. To prove that such is the case a handful of the wet wool was cut from one of the sheep when leaving the spout, and after being dried in the sun, a hard squeeze brought the yolk to the surface of the fibre. By this mode of washing, and by this alone, the dirt appears to be all removed from the surface of each fibre, while this is not contracted so as to drive out the yolk from the central tube. It is this contraction, which gives the feeling of harshness, so palpable after a great chill, or any other even temporary disturbance to the general health of the sheep. Three days are allowed between washing and shearing; but, alas, in this short space of time much mischief is done, and the snowy whiteness of the fleeces is sadly marred by the red dust of the volcanic soil, and more still by smut in the grass, which prevails to a serious extent just now, and is scarcely to be guarded against. This appears to be confined to one kind, a sort of low-growing native oat-grass, a good grass in other respects, but half the seed stems have now smut alone where the heads ought to be. The English grasses are as yet free from this disease, and it is only in such paddocks as are partly well covered with these that the sheep can be kept tolerably white about the legs and faces during the three days of grace before being submitted to the tender mercies of the shearers. This smut would seem to be one of the aparently trivial, yet serious difficulties with which those sheep owners desirous of getting up their wool in first-rate condition will have to contend every season, remarkable for a flush of grass just at this time, and there is no way of guarding against it but by having paddocks laid down with English grass to contain the sheep between washing and shearing time. When the present system of washing, comparatively novel as yet, comes to be better understood, probably even three days will not be allowed to elapse before shearing.

As before stated, it would be a waste of time to attempt to convey an exact idea of the plan of each and every washing place that is good, but there is much here from which useful ideas may be picked up. In the first place, the command of a fine stream of water for several months of the year was obtained by the construction of a series of dams of a very simple character, communicating one with another. The lower reservoirs are kept always full, by allowing the water to flow from those at a higher level as it is required, and in ordinary seasons, when there is much water saved in the natural lagoon, the highest of all, several of the paddocks can be irrigated two or three times during the summer. This fall of water so regulated and economized affords an ample supply for the spouts, and for driving the hydraulic ram or any other engine that may be required to save labour. Certainly the hills and land around are favourable for the purpose, but the catchwater area is not large, and quite as much might be done in this way at many stations and holdings where there is scarcely enough for the wholesome supply of a duck-pond through the summer. Passing from the mode of obtaining a supply, the next care here is that none shall pass away until it is either too dirty or has served its proper use. And as the boilers for heating water for the soaking pen are fitted up, there can be no burning of them through neglect, and at a time when such an accident would cause a serious interruption to the shearing. This is prevented, by drawing off the hot water from the tap, as it is raised by the inflow of cold through a pipe let down nearly to the bottom. By this method of filling the boilers they are always full with hot water rising from its having less specific gravity; but the inflow must be supplied from a source a trifle higher than the highest part of the discharge pipe, or mechanical means will be required to draw off the water. This may be treated by some as an insignificant matter of detail, but everything is of consequence that can in any way prevent stoppage or delay during the time of shearing.

Gladly would I linger on the many beauties and improvements of this place, the extensive views over hill and dale, mountain and plain, from the peak, the fine gardens and cultivated lands around the house, the new and comfortable men’s hut, wherein each man has a separate sleeping room if he chooses, and the pannikins shine like silver mugs under the diligent attention of the cook, but shearing is so nearly over, that sheep and wool, wool and sheep, must be my only theme for a time, and a speedy departure must be made from the hospitable halls of Ercildoun.

The Geelong Advertiser (Vic.) 24 December 1866
QUEENSCLIFF. The arrivals of the undermentioned parties are notified to us as having arrived at this fashionable water place: At Leihy’s Royal Hotel – Messrs. Learmonth and family, Ercildoun.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 17 January 1867
THE SHOW OF WOOL. Yesterday, an intercolonial show of Merino wool, in connexion with the universal exhibition to be held in London in August next, was opened at the establishment of Messrs. Cuningham (who was responsible for first frozen meat export) and Macredie. The invitation to the sister colonies to join in the competition was not liberally responded to, the only contributors, besides Victorian producers, being Mr. Joseph Carter, South Australia, and Mr. N.P. Bayly, Mudgee, New South Wales. The show was about equal in extent to its predecessor in 1865, but the condition in which many of the specimens were presented showed a gratifying improvement, and demonstrated the value of the recently adopted system of spout-washing with warm water.

The fleeces shown by Mr. Learmonth elicited the highest commendation, and we are assured by competent witnesses that for length of staple, quality, and the condition to which they had been brought by washing, they have never been equalled in this colony.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 19 January 1867
THE INTERCOLONIAL WOOL SHOW. “And now that the third show of wool is over, what is to be learned from it? But little more, truly, than what everyone knew before, namely, that Mr. Learmonth has the best sheep in this colony. As to whether there are any sheep in the other colonies better, we are no wiser than before, but we may safely surmise that there are not, taking both size and quality combined. There are doubtless very excellent sheep both in Tasmania and New South Wales, but they have not the size of our Victorian sheep, nor do they produce an equal weight of combing wool.”

It goes on to say that: “But in truth, the interest in these intercolonial shows of Merino wool is evidently on the wane, and before the time for another comes round, it will be well to consider, if, instead of a little-appreciated invitation to the other colonies to send us Merino wool, the farmers here should not be asked to join in the movement, with the coarser combing wools which they are beginning to find so remunerative; and if thus a renewed interest could not be given to a colonial show on a much wider basis. Merino wool pays exceedingly well, but there is a large circle of would-be exhibitors who consider that other sorts of wool pays better under suitable circumstances, and they would like to have their part in such a show. As at present arranged, these exhibitions partake too much of a spirit of exclusiveness ever to become as popular as they ought to be.”

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 19 January 1867
The Merino in Victoria. TO THE EDITOR OF THE AUSTRALIAN.
Sir, – I have read with much pleasure the excellent series of articles on the merino in Victoria which has appeared in your columns. The thanks of the breeders of the colony are due to your correspondent for the attention, which he has bestowed on the important subjects, which he has so ably treated. Although I do not agree with him on all points, and although he has fallen into a few inaccuracies as to matters of fact, still his views in my opinion are on the whole sound, and his writings calculated to do good. I regret that I was away from home when your correspondent was here, as I could have prevented some misapprehensions into which he has fallen, both as to the Camden flock and the sheepwash. With reference to the former, he is in error in stating that Mr. Wilson’s ewes were purchased after I bought from Mr. Greene. He got his the year before. I purchased the whole of the old pure blood, male and female, but left fifty – not 150 – with Mr. Greene. I have now resold the flock to Mr. Greene, but shall retain a few individuals, for the purpose of practically illustrating the correctness of my principles of breeding, and of proving that his country and climate are still better adapted for growing the combing wool than Mount Hope – a fact which is considered already proved, indeed, by those who have had the best opportunities of judging of the wool as it was at Mount Hope and is here. The flock being no longer mine, I may, without indelicacy, and without the fear of being suspected of interested motives, correct the following statement which your correspondent makes with reference to its present state: – “The question of in-breeding should not be dismissed so summarily, and without looking more particularly into what has been done by it. The Australian merino has been produced by this system, and it is only to be improved by selection, that is to say, amongst first-class sheep of the kind. The Camden flock was long so bred, and only after years of mismanagement and neglect began to show signs of fall off, not the effect of the system, but only the abuse of it.” He then proceeds to say that the Ercildoun flock offers a better instance of what may be done by in-breeding with due care. With the principles enunciated in this passage I most cordially agree; and that the Ercildoun flock furnishes a most convincing proof of the correctness of those principles I have always maintained. That fact, indeed, has never been disputed. And I am glad to say that Mr. Learmonth has become so satisfied that the practice of the system of in-breeding to good blood, even in the very closes affinities, is the surest, and indeed the only true method of maintaining and increasing excellence, that he has selected and placed in a separate paddock twenty of the best ewes of his own blood for the use of his splendid old ram, George I, the progeny which he intends again to put to their father. And here I would remark, with reference to your correspondent’s statement, that it was from Mr. Learmonth and Mr. Shaw that Mr. Currie derived his present opinions on in-breeding, that although Mr. Learmonth now believes in the system, he did not always do so, nor was it through him that Mr. Currie became a convert. It is no more than justice to Mr. McDougall, and in a minor degree to the present writer, to state, that I have been personally assured by both these gentlemen, as well as by several of the most extensive sheep-breeders in the colony, that until they read the correspondence in the Economist on the breeding question, they held no fixed principles at all on the subject. Mr. Learmonth, the Messrs. Cummings, and Mr. Shaw had, indeed, been forced into an adherence to their own blood by the manifestly evil results of the introduction of foreign blood. But the old prejudice respecting the necessity for a periodical infusion of fresh blood was still strong enough to lead them to believe that, although plainly right in practice, as regarded their own sheep, still they were wrong as regarded the general principle. The impression made on their minds, however, by the facts brought forward in the Economist was deepened into conviction by the masterly works of Dr. Randall, which, fortunately for the colony, were introduced at that critical period by Dr. Kenworthy, formerly of Ballarat. Extracts from Randall’s works also appeared in Clough’s Circular. The effect of these combined influences has been a very marked and decided change of opinion amongst most of the great breeders in the Western District, and indeed throughout the colony respecting the principles of breeding. And although there are still many who adhere to the antiquated prejudices which formerly prevailed universally as to the necessity, in the case of ram-breeders, of the periodical introduction of fresh blood into an already excellent stud-flock, and in the case of ram-buyers as to the necessity of changing the source from whence they obtain their supplies, yet the effects which have already been produced on the value of our staple export must be very considerable, whilst the ultimate results caused by the more extended acceptation of the principle which year by year the success of the system must induce are scarcely calculable. With reference to his allegation that the Camden flock has deteriorated, I would remark that your correspondent’s opinion cannot have been formed from personal observation, as he did not examine a single sheep while here, nor (so far as I am aware) did he ever see the flock at Mount Hope. Most probably his conclusions have been drawn from the disparaging tone in which these sheep have lately been alluded to by a certain well-known western breeder and writer, at whose station he appears to have been during his present tour. That writer asserted that he had had hundreds of the pure Camden rams through his hands, and that there was fifty per cent difference in the value of their fleeces. It struck me at the time of reading this assertion that it was strange that he should have had so many of the pure sheep, as I knew that the number of these had all along been very small. I have since, however, been informed by Mr. Campbell of a fact of which I was not previously aware, viz., that by far the greater proportion of the rams sold to the western breeders were only half-bred Camdens. Mr. Campbell says that Mr. Learmonth got some of the pure rams. But the majority were ‘got’ by pure Camden rams out of good picked ewes purchased in Victoria, not pure Camden ewes. Here, then, we have a complete explanation of the phenomenon, which that writer brought forward as a proof, that homogeneousness of blood does not necessarily prevent wide dissimilarity of character. While on the subject I would draw the attention of those interested in an extract from the M. R. New Yorker, which appeared in the Economist of the 21st December last, in which the point of dissimilarity of character in pure-bred animals is most ably treated. I do not intend to assert that the Camden flock at present exhibits that uniform excellence which a long-continued and strict attention to the selection and coupling of individuals would have secured. On this point I still venture to differ from Mr. McDougall. But if the assertion, which I am about to make be correct, it cannot be true that deterioration to any appreciable extent has taken place. Nor do I intend to make that assertion merely on the strength of my own opinion. It will be made on the basis of the opinion of every good judge of sheep (with the exception of one only) who has ever examined the stud-flock here – more particularly on that of four gentlemen who have acted as judges at all the principal shows in the colony. The assertion is – that there are individuals in the Camden flock, both young and old, male and female, which combine in themselves every desirable quality, to an extent exhibited by no other sheep, either imported or Australian, and that these individuals have none of the faults which are alleged to be inseparable from Australian characteristics. If this assertion be correct, it is evident that the elements of uniformity and of a close approximation to perfection exist within the blood; and those who understand the arcana of breeding will admit that by the introduction of no blood less homogeneous could uniformity and the permanence of the characteristics possessed by all, in combination with the development of those not possessed to a sufficient extent by some, be equally certainly and well attained. A very large number of witnesses might be brought forward to prove that this assertion is in accordance with fact. But the testimony of the four gentlemen particularly alluded to, is of peculiar value. Two of them are themselves breeders of the very highest standing. Another, though not himself a breeder, from having so frequently acted as a judge, both at Skipton and in Melbourne, is thoroughly acquainted with every flock of note in the colony. His evidence is rendered of especial value from the fact that all his prejudices were in favour of imported sheep, and that up to the time of his inspecting the stud flock here, he avowed his belief that there were no sheep of Australian blood free from the very serious defects of ropiness and openness on the top of the wither and along the back, deficiency on the point of the rib, and a too large proportion of belly wool, together with a bad character of belly wool. Until he saw the stud flock here, he said he had seen no Australian sheep entirely free from one or more of these faults. He had seen as great density and finer quality in short clothing wools on Saxon sheep, and perhaps as long – never longer – staple on French and Australian sheep. But he had never, on any sheep, either imported or Australian, seen such a combination of quality, density, length of staple, softness, and silky lustre. Now, your correspondence, on the hypothesis of the deterioration of the Cabana, suggests the propriety of making the experiment of putting some of the ewes to French rams. He fully admits the danger of losing some of the Camden characteristics, and also the want of certainty of result, occasioned not only by the mixing – not crossing, as he most properly observes – of two streams of blood which had flowed so long apart, under different conditions, but also by the large number of differing individuals from which the Rambouillet flock originally sprang, the effects of which, in spite of many years of in-breeding, are, as he truly remarks, still apparent. But he thinks that the power and persistence of the Camden blood, caused by its homogeneousness, would enable it in every case to assert its own character, whilst only those individuals of the progeny which exhibited in addition the qualities desiderated should be selected for establishing the improved type. On the supposition of the correctness of the hypothesis alluded to, I should completely concur with your correspondent as to the propriety of making some such experiment (I would, however, very much prefer an American to a French ram for the purpose), for I hold that if no individual within the blood possess the desired qualities, these must be introduced from without. But as I have shown that individuals of both sexes do exist in the Cabana possessing all the desired qualities, and free from the faults alleged to be inseparable from the Australian blood, I am sure, from the enunciation of the principles he holds to be correct, which he has so repeatedly given, that your correspondent will agree with me in believing that the end in view can be attained with much more certainty, and much less danger, by continuing to breed with selection within the pale, than by making any selection beyond the pale of the blood. I have not felt at liberty publicly to mention the names of the gentlemen on whose judgments I have grounded the above assertion, but I am quite prepared to communicate that information privately………….

The Leader (Melbourne, Vic.) 19 January 1867

INTERCOLONIAL WOOL EXHIBITION. The third intercolonial exhibition of merino wool took place 16th inst., at the Australasian wool stores, the last having been held there in January 1865. The same care has been exercised as formerly, to prevent the slightest bias on the part of the judges, the names of the exhibitors being only known to the honorary secretary, Mr. Macredie, and not divulged by him until after the awards had been given. The judges devoted the whole of Tuesday to the examination of the wool, and have drawn up a very careful report, a copy of which we append the following tables, arranged according to merit, exhibit the names of the various exhibitors, and other particulars:
Class I – WASHED
9) Thos. Learmonth Value of Bale, taking Growth as 365 Days £34 11s 2d.
3) Philip Russell £29 0s 11d – A very good combing wool, good both in quality and condition; a most desirable wool to grow.
1) J.L. Currie £28 12s 10d – A very superior lot of combing wool, fine condition and superior quality; the skirts are good.
4) J.L. Currie £28 9s 4d – A very good combing wool, fair quality, and in good condition.
Class II – GREASY
12) John Bell £28 6s 3d – A superior low wool in very good condition.
13) Thomas Learmonth £27 3s 6d – A very superior combing wool, of good quality and condition.
Class III – SKIRTED
1) Thos. Learmonth – The quality, condition and color of this wool is splendid.
4) J.L. Currie – A most beautiful bred wool, but not so silky or long grown as lots 1 and 3.

Besides the published exhibits, there was a fine sample of lambs’ wool, washed on the backs of lambs bred by T. Shaw, Esq., on the Wooriwyrite station. The wool shown by T. Learmonth, Esq., and forming exhibit No. 1 of class 3, commanded much attention from its length of staple, quality and condition, and was shorn at the Ercildoun station. The stations on which the various samples of wool were shorn are as follows: – Learmonth’s, Ercildoun; P. Russell’s, Carngham; Currie’s Lara, near Cressy; Bell’s, Warrambeen, near Shelford; Carter and Sons’, Rosebrook, near Cavendish; T. Russell’s, Rookwood; J. Blair’s, Clunie, Glenelg River; G. Thomson’s, near Buangor; Campbell’s near Buangor; J. Carter’s, South Australia near Cressy; J. Mackersey’s, Kennilworth, near Hamilton; C. Gray’s, Mareeb, near Hamilton; Greene and Burt’s, Glenmore, Bacchus Marsh; N. P. Bayly’s, Mudgee, New South Wales; D. Affleck’s, Mount Emu, near Skipton; and T. Shaw’s, Wooriwyrite, near Darlington.

The South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA) 25 January 1867
THE VICTORIAN WOOL SHOW. Excerpt – The gentlemen whose names are appended exhibited in the three classes for which prizes were given: – Mr. T. Learmonth, Ercildoun; Mr. P. Russell, Carngham; Mr. J. L. Currie, Larra, Cressy; Mr. J. Bell, Warrambine, Shelford; Messrs. Carter & Sons, Rosebrook, Upper Glenelg; Mr. T. Russell, Rokewood; Mr. J. Blair, Clunie, Glenelg; Mr. G. Thompson, Buangor, Ararat; Mr. C. Campbell, do; Mr. Joseph Carter, South Australia; Messrs. Thomas Russell and Co., the Plains, Inverleigh; Mr. A. S. Robertson, Cressy; Mr. J. Mackersey, Kendworth, Hamilton; Mr. C. Gray, Nareeb Nareeb; Messrs. Greene and Burt, Mudgee, New South Wales; Mr. D. Affleck, Mount Emu, Skipton; and Mr. Thomas Shaw, Wooriwyrite.

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 14 February 1867
A FIRE broke out on the run of Messrs Learmonth, at Ercildoun, on Monday, and before it was extinguished grass to the extent of one thousand acres was consumed, and that on the best portion of their land. It appears that Duncan McDonald, of the Springs, set fire to his stubble field, which soon spread to Messrs Learmonth’s run; and had there not been plenty of assistance at hand the damage done must have been far greater. Great complaints have been made (writes our Learmonth correspondent) of the careless manner in which farmers set fire to their stubble before clearing a sufficient space and giving the notice required by law, thereby endangering their neighbors’ property.

The Avoca Mail (Vic.) 16 February 1867
LEXTON POLICE COURT. Police v McDonald – Setting fire to stubble at the Springs on the 11th ins., without first clearing a space of fifteen feet around it and without giving twenty four hours notice in writing to the occupiers of contiguous lands, whereby the property of Mr Thomas Learmonth, M.L.C., was destroyed to the value of £1000. The defendant pleaded guilty. Senior Constable Buckmaster, in stating the case remarked that the provisions of the Act, though clear and simple, were seldom, if ever, observed by the farmers, and as a consequence of their neglect, much injury was frequently done to their neighbors, and notwithstanding the heavy fine of £100, the neglect was of frequent occurrence. Mr. Learmonth, examined: – I am a squatter residing at Ercildoun, and have land adjacent to the defendant’s farm. About 1,500 acres of grass were destroyed by fire on the 11th ins. I estimate the damage at £1000, as a good deal of it was sown with English grass. I never received notice in writing from the defendant of his intention to set the stubble on fire. (Mr Learmonth here appealed to the Bench to deal leniently with the case as he felt assured that the defendant never intended to injure him.) Fined £5 and 17s.

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 15 March 1867
MR. LEARMONTH AND MR. ROLFE.
A letter from Thomas Learmonth To the Editor of The Age.
SIR – “In the leading article of The Age of the 9th instant. I am brought prominently before the public as having acted improperly in presenting the scrutiny into the validity of the late election for the South-Western Province, in which Mr. Rolfe and myself were the rival candidates, and which is now being investigated before the committee of elections and qualifications of the Legislative Council.” It goes on to state “I would either be fairly elected by my fellow citizens, or I should not sit in the Upper House at all; and at a meeting of my friends, held in Ballarat the next day, I read to them the communication I had received containing the above proposition. I hope that this scrutiny, however it may affect myself, may at least have this result, that it will tend to check the present nefarious practice of “roll-stuffing,” and place the registration for both Houses of Parliament on a better footing. As for my opponent in this contest, I have no ground of quarrel against him. I am aware that this scrutiny must give him annoyance, and am sorry for it. I believe Mr. Rolfe to be an honorable man. I know that he had no hand in placing on the rolls scores of fictitious names, and I feel sure that he would be as glad as I should be that all elections were honestly conducted. Nay, more than this, I have no wish to prevent Mr. Rolfe from having a seat in Parliament. He is a man of greater political experience than myself, and when he supports measures that I consider to be for the benefit of the country, I shall vote by his side.” I am, sir, yours obediently,
THOMAS LEARMONTH. Ercildoun, 11th March.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 21 March 1867
BIRTHS. On the 18th March, at Ercildoun, near Ballarat, Mrs. Thomas Learmonth, of a son.

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 18 April 1867
The engine of the Woollen Cloth Company, Geelong, was “christened” on Tuesday. Captain Velum started it, and the chairman of the board of directors, J.L. Currie, Esq., performed the interesting ceremony of breaking a bottle of champagne over the engine and naming it “Larra.” In doing so, he expressed himself highly honored at having the privilege of christening the first woollen factory engine in Victoria, and trusted that it would prove a blessing to the rising generation.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 25 May 1867
Mudgee Wool v. Victorian. TO THE EDITOR OF THE AUSTRALASIAN.
Sir, – I read but mislaid Mr. Bayly’s reply to my letter. I have secured another copy, and find that his challenges were to all the five winners at the late show, or to any two of them. Had this been impressed on my mind (it is plainly written, I now see) I could have said in my last what I now say, that Mr. Thomas Learmonth, of Ercildoun, and the writer of this will compare prices with Mr. Bayly by sending account- sales to you when all for the season have arrived. I cannot understand Mr. Bayly’s fear that we intended to examine the London account-sales, and only forward those higher than his. Such an idea never entered my head; but if it had, is Mr. Bayly not prepared to compete with any Victorian bidder? If he is not, as an older breeder he ought to be, and, what is more, he should go ahead of any of them, as, from samples he has seen, our “wool was very coarse indeed.” I regret to notice Mr. Bayly has a fling at the Melbourne judges – a too common practice among unsuccessful competitors. My prize was but a third, yet I say those gentlemen most ably and most kindly fulfilled their duties. Their previous judgments have been substantially proved correct in the London market, and I believe better judges cannot be found in any of the Australian colonies. I have read and noted what Mr. Bayly advances as regards weight of fleece off stud ewes. He is confident that his fleeces would have weighed 10lb. each if the sheep had been running in paddocks. I am confident they would not. Keeping away anything fed up by extra artificial pastures, and with a true twelve-months’ fleece, I am just as confident he has not, and never had, sixty ewes which will yield him 600lb. of wool light in grease. I will not say that he has not stud ewes, which with sand and heavy grease will not give any weight he wishes to mention. His assertions, confident as they are, and mine are at variance. Who is right? This difference of opinion shows how desirable it is that fair and upright exhibitions should be held; as if Mr. Bayly can prove his assertions, Victorian breeders will rush to Mudgee for stud ewes; if he is wrong, perhaps they had better stop at home. Mr. Bayly has seen samples of our prize bales, and found them “very coarse indeed.” I have seen samples of his wool at your office, and thought them very fine indeed; such wool with a 10lb. fleece would be my beau ideal of a stud ewe, which I think I have seen in the flocks of Ercildoun. THOMAS SHAW, Jun.

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) 11 June 1867
VICTORIAN WOOLS. (From the Australasian.) It seems that our Victorian wools do not find favor in the eyes of the Mudgee people, any more than the entry of wool from there did in the eyes of the judges at the last Intercolonial Show here. Excerpt – …but because New South Wales has been so long famous for her clothing wools that the breeders there, especially those who have been so engaged for the last twenty, or even ten years, cannot quickly unlearn what they have been so long taught to believe in as the peculiar merits of the merino wool. Now, the breeders in Victoria most commenced without these traditional rules to restrain them, free to learn from what they had before their eyes, and although the effort was made and long persevered in to grow fine clothing wool, the climate or the soil, or both together, proved too much for those breeders who made the old standard merino their object, and produced an animal with at least a different fleece in spite of them. The wool would grow straighter and longer, and in truth also less dense in the pile; so that the cry arose for foreign blood, and extravagant prices were given for German rams. On these the fleeces were as dense as could be wished; but, contrary to expectation, the wool of their progeny realized less per pound that that of the sheep they were brought to improve, even so much less that the heavier fleeces did not fetch as much money as the old unimproved lighter ones. Such a disappointment showed only too clearly that some of the most valuable properties of the old wool were lost by the German cross, and on inquiry these were found to be the brightness of hair and clearness of staple, as well as the general softness and silkiness of the fleece, of what has been lately distinguished by the name of the Australian merino. These are the peculiar qualities now required in combing wool for the finest and most costly fabrics, and for these the manufacturers will consequently give the highest prices. Thus, the merino must be changed in character to keep with the times, and is not now to be judged by the old rules.

The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 31 July 1867
AUSTRALIAN WHEAT IN AMERICA. Even a newspaper in Queensland mentions the varieties of wheat Thomas Learmonth sent over to the New York State Ag. Society totaling 8 bushels – White Velvet Wheat 64 lbs. per bushel, White Tuscan Wheat 65 lbs. per bushel, White Lammas Wheat 66 lbs. per bushel, Golden Drop Wheat 63 lbs. per bushel. The wheat was to be distributed to farmers, about a peck to each applicant, who were to take charge of it and make returns to the secretary.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 19th August 1867
THE PARIS EXHIBITION. (From our special correspondent.)
Dr. Mueller sent a case of various kinds of paper made from eucalyptus, which appeared quite as good as the ordinary paper made from rags. The author of this article states that the colony is greatly indebted to Dr. Mueller and M. Ramel for the great pains that they have devoted to the cultivation of this tree – the latter gentleman especially has quite succeeded in acclimatizing it in Algeria, where it grows luxuriantly, and in his garden in Paris. He has several young plants doing well and the cigars are capital and have really valuable medicinal qualities in addition to their excellent smoke.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 23 August 1867
NEWS AND NOTES. …reports on the proposed visit of the Duke of Edinburgh to Ballarat, and the possibility of an added visit to Ercildoun, where the most famous flocks, and one of the finest sheep-runs in Australia may be seen, and where no doubt Mr. Learmonth would give his Grace a worthy reception, and that would convey to the Duke and his suite an excellent epitome of the wealth, industry, and resources of the colony.

The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 26 August 1867
BUSHRANGING ON THE BORDER. In this article, the Narrandera correspondent of the Pastoral Times gives and account of the doings of the bushrangers in that locality. A Mr. Waller was on the way to the Narrandera Police Station to give information of his station having been stuck up by “Blue Cap” and “Jack the Devil.” He said that their object was not to obtain money but firearms, and one of them told him that it was a miserable life, but as he had commenced, he was compelled to continue the avocation. They politely refused the grog on the table. They had heard of a splendid revolver of Mr. Waller’s, which they took possession of and seemed pleased with. They also took a silver watch but nothing more, “observing that it would be hoped there were no females about that would be alarmed.” Two racehorses, Waratah and Geebung, seemingly known to the bushrangers were stolen from Berellan Station along with two saddles, a round of beef and sundry articles of clothing. They also held up Bringagee Station owned by the Learmonth Brothers (Ercildoun had been held up in 1854 and 1872) about thirty miles from Narrandera down the river from which place they decided to secure a rifle capable of firing sixteen charges without reloading. Upon arrival there and searching for this formidable piece without success, they then by some means ascertained that the rifle was at the hut of a shepherd on some out-station to which they proceeded and secured the rifle, expressing their disgust at being previously put upon the wrong scent. They searched and found in the bush one of the overseers, whom they stripped and compelled to walk before them home to the head-station, upon where they broke open boxes and smashed different things in search for money, &c. The last paragraph states – “No wonder you are viewing the districts of Victoria with a jealous eye, for what comparison is there between that colony and New South Wales? Only cross the Murray at Moama, and how discernible is the difference when you set foot upon a well-regulated territory!”

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 17 September 1867
VICTORIA IN THE PARIS EXHIBITION. Silver Medal awarded to John Bell, Melbourne, for wool. Bronze Medals for wool &c. were awarded to – J.L. Currie, Larra, T. Learmonth, Ercildoun, Philip Russell, Carngham, F. Ormond, Jun., Borrigallar, Skipton, A.S. Robertson, per Cuningham and Macredie, and to Cuningham and Macredie, Melbourne, for greasy wool, ewe fleece bred by George Thomson, Bangor.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 25 October 1867
BALLARAT AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL SOCIETY’S SHOW. Thomas Learmonth won 4 first prizes for the best three merino rams of any age, the best three merino ewes, the best three merino rams (two-tooth) and for the best three merino ewes (two-tooth).

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 26 November 1867
BALLARAT AG. & PASTORAL SOCIETY’S 9TH ANNUAL SHOW. Thomas Learmonth won 4 first prizes for cattle at The Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society’s Ninth Annual Show for best Hereford bull, aged (imported or colonial), bred at Ercildoun, best Hereford cow, aged (imported or colonial), bred at Ercildoun, best two year old heifer and for the best cow shown in the yards of any age.

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 29 November 1867
THE NATIONAL SHOW. Mr. Learmonth, M.L.C., presents the following address to his Royal Highness Alfred Ernest Albert, Duke of Edinburgh, Knight of the most noble, Order of the Garter, &c, &c, &c. – May it please your Royal Highness, We, the members of the Board of Agriculture representing the various agricultural societies in Victoria, desire to take this opportunity of adding one more to the many addresses of welcome which have already greeted your Royal Highness. In the old country the agricultural community has even been conspicuous for loyalty and devotion to the Sovereign. We assure your Royal Highness that similar feelings towards her Majesty the Queen exist amongst the agriculturists in this colony, and that they entertain a lively interest in the happiness and welfare of the Royal family, and the maintenance of the integrity of the British Empire. We thank your Royal Highness for honoring this exhibition with your presence. We are sensible that it can by no means compare with exhibitions of like character in the fatherland, but we venture to hope that it may be pleasing to your Royal Highness to trace here, and in your visit to the interior, the progress in agriculture which has been made in a country where, thirty-two years ago, the white man was a stranger and the ground was unbroken by the plough.”

Thomas Learmonth ended up taking by far the greater number of prizes, as well as the Champion prizes, for his rams and ewes, at this show.

The Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser, 12 December 1867
THE AUSTRALIAN MERINO. We are informed that Mr. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, has sold for Queensland one ram for £100 and three do. for £50 each. Mr. Thos. Shaw, Jnr. has also sold thirty ewes at £5 each. Our Queensland neighbours are evidently beginning to see the necessity of securing some of our good sheep. Melbourne Economist.

The Perth Gazette & Western Australia Times, 13 December 1867
WOOL-WASHING. (From the Australasian.) However, leaving the question of condition, to which prices testify in the most convincing manner, we must return to the means by which this is best to be obtained. Our readers had to thank Mr. Macknight last week for the very valuable information obtained by him as the result of several years’ study and experience at Dunmore, and this week we give a plan suitable for those who are not so advantageously situated in regard to water. This is almost similar to that adopted by the Messrs. Cumming at Mount Fyans, as expressly adapted to carry out the new process to perfection when the water is hard. When this is the case the slightest chill must be avoided, or the dirt sets, and the stain cannot be afterwards removed with any amount of spouting. Therefore, the warm water pen is as close to the spouts as it can be, and there is no intermediate battery as at Dunmore. Mr. Currie has tried the battery for finishing with instead of spouts, but it does not answer, unless with the expenditure of about three times as much water as would suffice for the latter. Nor is it in any way more effectual; therefore the simplest plan is the best; and nothing can be more compact or more easily understood than the plan we give. The object in this is to allow of the sheep being soaked thoroughly in the pen, passing from one compartment to the other as they are fit, and then on to the small stage, from which they are let down the slides to the men at the spouts. There is no preliminary sprinkling in the yards, as that is thought on the plains, where the water is generally hard, to do more harm than good, rendering it difficult to keep the water in the soaking-pen up to the requisite degree of heat. Any sheep with very black tips can be rubbed with soap while in the pen. This is found to be sufficient to remove those of most Australian merinos, which are not usually very black or gummy; but a preliminary sprinkling of soapy water would be desirable for black-tipped Germans and American merinos, even though causing a little extra consumption of fuel. Sheep owners obliged to use hard water find that the more rapidly they can have the process of washing completed the whiter their wool is. When the dirt has been well softened in the warm water, and not allowed to cool again, it is knocked off very quickly by the water from the spouts; and the sheep leaves the water with its skin of a bright rosy red, showing that it has suffered nothing from the hot and cold bath. The same principle is adopted by Mr. Learmonth at Ercildoun, but the water there being soft, the preliminary shower is in vogue. Thus, of the clips fetching the highest prices during the last few years, some have been washed with hard water and some with soft, but none without hot water and a due proportion of soap and soda. If asked for perfection in the plan of a wash, we would say that this will be found in the plan we give, of course with modifications in detail, only substituting Mr. McKnight’s box spouts for those that are open, when the fall of water will admit of such a change. A small quantity of water would have more effect from the former, and when economy of this element is necessary, there would be a decided advantage; but the intervening battery according to the Dunmore plan would be injurious when the water is in the least degree hard. And as to the water in which the sheep float when under the spouts becoming cloudy and dirty, this can be prevented by causing it to flow off freely from one outlet, which unless there is some special reason to the contrary should be placed behind the slides or under the stage; but the intervening battery, according to the Dunmore plan, would be injurious when the water is in the least degree hard. And as to the water in which sheep float when under the spouts becoming cloudy and dirty, this can be prevented by causing it to flow off freely from one outlet, which unless there is some special reason to the contrary, should be placed behind the slides or under the stage. Some such compact plan will be found best whether the water is hard or soft, and it may be constructed almost entirely of wood, if desirable. The soaking-pen may stand on the ground or be only slightly let down in to it, allowing the men to handle and rub the sheep at a convenient distance below them. And as the warm water has to be changed very frequently to get rid of the dirt in an ordinary pen, this might be made with a false bottom closing down on the grating, so that the water below this, containing the bulk of the dirt, could be allowed to flow out every now and then, without much of the cleaner water above escaping. Then the cold-water-pen under the spouts need not be large, and, if the wood or solid masonry could be made with recesses for the men to stand in and hold the sheep, thus avoiding the necessity for inconvenient tubs. Even to keep three spouts going, the soaking-pen need not be made to hold more than from twelve to fifteen sheep, unless these are very dirty, and require to be kept an unusually long time in hot water. No more than five minutes should elapse from the time a tolerably clean sheep goes down the slide into the soaking-pen until it leaves the hands of the men at the spouts. The working out of this system has resulted in the utmost simplification of washing and economy of labour, so that not even a single tilt is required. And as nothing can be simpler than the plan we give, we may suppose this to be near perfection. However, it shows very plainly the principle that must be acted upon in using soap and soda; and, as Mr. Macknight very correctly remarks in his last letter on the subject, let no one meddle with hot water unless prepared to carry out the new system of sheep-washing in its integrity. Without boilers enough to keep the water in the soaking-tank up to about 110, and then cold water enough in the spouts to dash the dirt out quickly, the chances are ten to one that the wool is left stained and dingy, and in worse condition that if the sheep had been only brook-washed. But thanks to the information furnished by our different experienced correspondents, and what we have otherwise been enabled to supply from time to time, those interested in the subject ought now to be sufficiently well posted up to arrive at decisions on such points for themselves, and if in a position to adopt the system, with knowledge enough of it to adopt one or other of the plans given to their circumstances in regards to land, water and number of sheep.

The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW) 21 December 1867 & The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 23 December 1867
At the Exhibition of Colonial Wools recently held in this country, a bale from the Ercildoun flock (Victoria), belonging to Messrs. T. & S. Learmonth, to whom the first prize was awarded, realized the extraordinary price of 4s 10½d per lb. When it is borne in mind that hardly thirty years have elapsed since the first settlement of the colony of Victoria, the fact that a wool has thus already been produced far surpassing in general excellence the growth of the best Spanish and German flocks, from which the Australian blood was originally derived, gives striking evidence alike of the skill and enterprise of our colonists, and of the great natural capability of the colony for the production of this staple.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 24 December 1867
THE VISIT TO LEARMONTH. The drive to Learmonth and the witnessing of the regatta and the view of this beautiful agricultural country surrounding the lake had by most people been expected to be one of the most interesting events of the visit of his Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh to this district. However, his Royal Highness and suite, the good people of Learmonth, the regatta committee, and the thousands of people who had travelled all sorts of distances to see the Prince, were doomed to disappointment. The bright but rainy morning turned to a windy, stormy, and intolerably dusty day, and so inclement at one time as to include a hailstorm or two in its programme. The town of Learmonth looked better, perhaps, than it ever did before, triumphal arches, evergreen decorations, and flags and banners without number, and the presence of at least 5000 persons, with countless herds of horses and traps of all kinds that might be numbered by hundreds made up a scene so lively and stirring that the good folks of Learmonth must have been astonished at the bustling, joyous, gay, and picturesque appearance of their, at all times, picturesque little town. An address from the Ballaratshire Council had been presented to the Prince privately, and another was presented from the Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society, by Mr. Dalgleish, president, with Mr. Simon Morrison secretary. Mr. J.S. Stewart, president of the Talbotshire Council, with Mr. Wood, secretary, also presented an address. His Royal Highness then went to see the assembled children and hear them sing, and then went to start the first races, but that not being quite ready, he went into the spacious refreshment pavilion, where after some delay, all the privileged took their seats. The luncheon was provided by the Exchange hotel, Bridge street, Ballarat, and was satisfactory in every way. Mr. Thomas Learmonth, who had been expected to preside, was not present, and Mr. Archibald Fisken took the chair, but Mr. Learmonth coming in soon afterwards, he presided at the head of the table. Mr. G. G. Morton acted as toastmaster. The first toast was “The Queen” then “The Prince and Princess of Wales and the other members of the Royal Family.” Both were received with three cheers. Mr. Learmonth, in proposing the health of his Royal Highness Prince Alfred, remarked that they had all wished to give a hearty welcome, and to thank him for his kindness in coming to witness the sports and see the district. The toast was received with hearty cheering. His Royal Highness, in reply, observed that the agriculturists were by him considered among the most loyal of her Majesty’s subjects, and he expressed regret at the unfavourable weather interfering with the regatta. His Royal Highness and suite then withdrew, and shortly afterwards left for Ballarat, as it was apparent that none of the rowing matches would come off owing to the strength of the wind. During the time occupied in the presentation of the address a life member’s ticket of the Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society was presented to his Royal Highness. He was informed that the Ercildoun hills, which form so prominent a feature in the view of the lake, were those on which Mr. Learmonth had bred the sheep whose wool had taken the first prize in London against exhibits from all parts of the world. As to the regatta, only two races were contested, the crews of the rowing boats having wisely determined not to run the risk attendant on launching the frail craft in such stormy water.

From the Records of Learmonth State School No. 386. In 1868 a concert was staged by the Learmonth Glee Club and raised £6.18.0 towards the purchase of furniture needed by the school. It was supplied by Mr Robertson and cost £10. The difference in money was donated by Thomas Learmonth of Ercildoun. (A Short History of the Learmonth State School, in The Thunderer Enlighting. H. A. Patterson)

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 14 March 1868
VICTORIAN v. MUDGEE WOOLS. To The Editor of The Australasian.
Sir, – Mr. N.P. Bayly having addressed a letter to you dated 26th December last, and published by you in your issue of 11th January, in which he gives a statement of the account sales of his clip of 1866, I beg, through you, to thank him for having done so, and to apologise for not having sooner furnished you with a similar statement of the Ercildoun clip, which pressure of business alone has prevented. Allow me to say here, that the challenge “to compare notes came from Mr. Bayly himself, and that I had no idea of offering one beyond the invitation already given at the late Exhibition to show our various Australian wools against those produced in other parts of the world. In the memorandum given below, I have adopted the same method, which Mr. Bayly has followed, giving the entire Ercildoun clip of 1866, except three bales of greasy wool and two bales sent to the Paris Exhibition. I think it would have formed a better comparison between the Mudgee wool and that grown in Victoria, had Mr. Bayly given the number of sheep shorn by him in 1866, the quantity of wool per sheep, and the net money value of such wool after being sold in London. And although the method followed by Mr. Bayly may form a very fair ground of comparison if adopted by Mr. Currie and Mr. Shaw as well as by Mr. Bayly and myself, I think it may be interesting to your readers to put it in another form. I therefore give the following extract from my Journal, in which the net profit per sheep is given annually since 1863. Details are then given of the Clip of 1866 from Ercildoun, as sold in London. The brand is described as Ercildoun over TL conjoined in diamond. I am, Sir, yours, &c., THOMAS LEARMONTH.
Ercildoun, by Ballarat, March 5. P.S. – Having been informed that many persons imagine that whatever excellence the Ercildoun flock may possess, it is the work of a long series of years, I may state here, for the encouragement of others, that with the exception of the pure stud flock, which now numbers only about 3,000, and which has been in our possession about twenty years, the bulk of our flock has been produced since 1862, by careful weeding, and the constant infusion of fresh blood, from what store ewes we could pick up from our neighbours. T. L.

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) 7 April 1868
To Settlers – Designs for most approved Spout-washing Apparatus furnished – construction of machinery supervised. D. R. Pritchard, Engineer to Messrs. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, 142 Collins-street, West, Melbourne.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 11 April 1868
AGRICULTURAL REPORT – 3rd Paragraph. “The settlers in Riverina, stimulated to renewed action by the publication of the prices of wool and the returns per sheep obtained by the Messrs. Learmonth, in this colony, are agitating again for some relaxation in the stringency of the regulations preventing the crossing of sheep over the Murray from this side. They want rams from the flocks of Messrs. Learmonth, Currie, Shaw, Cummings, and others, whose wool fetches a high price, and they see no sufficient reason for being denied the chance of getting them. The numbers required being comparatively small, they could be introduced without the least danger of taking scab with them. Each little flock of fifty or a hundred might be dipped at Echuca, and that would be the most convenient crossing-place, then quarantined and examined at Moama, until every doubt about their being clean was removed. Besides, all our noted breeders’ flocks are, and have long been, clean, and drafts from most of these could be taken to the Murray through clean country, so that the chance of infection would be small. One sheep owner, writing on the subject, says that his returns of wool are only 4s. 6d. a head from 30,000 sheep, and points out that the difference between that and the 7s. 7d. averaged for the whole of the Ercildoun flocks is simply a question of prosperity or insolvency to many of his brother settlers. Rams of the kind required in Riverina are becoming almost a drug in the market here, in consequence of a restriction, which must very shortly be removed.

The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.) 25 April 1868
FIELD AND GARDEN MEMORANDA FOR MAY. Excerpt – A Controversy has been carried on for some time past in the Southern newspapers as to which colony produces the best wool. Mr. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, in Victoria, and Mr. Bayly, of Mudgee, in New South Wales, have succeeded in rearing sheep of superior excellence, the result of many years’ careful attention in breeding. Their arrangements for sheep washing are also of the best description, and no trouble is spared in preparing the wool for market. As a consequence of the judicious attention to quality, quantity, and condition, the wool realizes very high prices. Without entering into the merits of the dispute as to which colony has succeeded best, it is enough for our present purpose to know that for some years past, the wool from these sheep has realized in the London market upwards of 7s. 6d. for each fleece, not from a picked flock only, but on the average for all the sheep on the station. The fact that such a return is obtainable ought to stimulate our wool-growers to increased exertions to get a higher return from their flocks. If the owners of some of the best flocks in this district were to publish their averages, as Mr. Bayly has done, it is probable that it might not be necessary to go so far as Mudgee for an example of what can be done, although none of them might equal him in the average from the whole station. There are no means of ascertaining the average weight of the whole of the fleeces shipped from any of these colonies, but it is miserably below what it ought to be. We would recommend each wool-grower to calculate the sum, which he realizes per head on all his sheep, and by comparing that with what has been done by others, he will at once see that it is necessary to lessen the difference between them by effecting some improvement. There are many stations where the wool has not given a gross return of half-a-crown a head all round; attention has been directed, almost solely, to increasing the numbers, a process which has added to the shepherding and other expenses, but not to the profits. The expenses grow in proportion to the number of sheep on the run, but, in most instances, an addition may be made to the average weight of fleece by care and management without any extra cost, in which case the increase of weight is so much added to the profit, the most desirable operation that can be performed. The first step towards obtaining this result is the careful culling out of all inferior and light-woolled sheep; there are numbers on almost every station that are not worth their keep, but they cost as much for shepherding as the best, and thus destroy both the average and the profit.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 4 May 1868
The Hon. Mr Learmonth was appointed on Saturday last, president of the Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society, at the annual meeting held at Craig’s hotel.

The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 5 May 1868
A CONTROVERSY has been carried on for some time past in the Southern newspapers as to which colony produces the best wool. Mr. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, in Victoria, and Mr. Bayley, of Mudgee, in New South Wales, have succeeded in rearing sheep of superior excellence, the result of many years’ careful attention in breeding. Their arrangements for sheep washing are also of the best description, and no trouble is spared in preparing the wool for market. As a consequence of the judicious attention to quality, quantity, and condition, the wool realizes very high prices. Without entering into the merits of the dispute as to which colony has succeeded best, it is enough for our present purpose to know that for some years past the wool from these sheep has realized in the London market upwards of 7s. 6d. for each fleece, not from a picked flock only, but on the average for all the sheep on the station. The fact that such a return is obtainable ought to stimulate our woolgrowers to increased exertions to get a higher return from their flocks. If the owners of some of the best flocks in this district were to publish their averages, as Mr. Bayley has done, it is probable that it might not be necessary to go so far as Mudgee for an example of what can be done, although none of them might equal him in the average from the whole station.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 22 May 1868
AGRICULTURAL. The annual meeting of the Ballarat Pastoral and Agricultural Society was held on 2nd May, at Craig’s hotel. Excerpt – In referring to the universal exhibition of merino wool, held in London last year, the report congratulated the members upon the first prize being awarded to “Mr Thomas Learmonth, one of the vice-presidents of your society, and one of its best friends and liberal supporters. The most noted compliment passed at this exhibition, by the most competent of judges, was passed on the washed fleecy wool belonging to Mr Learmonth. Their declaration was that this wool was ‘absolute perfection. The handsomest bale of wool we ever saw.’ Mr Philip Russell, of Carngham, carried away his fair share of the laurels of this exhibition. Your committee is delighted to find that the samples of wheat, which were so generously purchased last year in Ballarat, by Mr Learmonth, of Ercildoun, and presented by him in the name of your society to the State Agricultural Society of New York, are very highly prized in that distant country. From the journal of that important agricultural society your committee learns that those samples have been widely distributed for experiment amongst the most celebrated agriculturists in the United States of America.” The report referred in strong language to the daily increase of the thistle nuisance, and in the discussion, which ensured it was clearly shown that the present Thistle Act was not sufficient to cope with this positive pest. The hon. Mr Learmonth was appointed president of the society for the ensuing year.

The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.) 30 May 1868
ADVERTISEMENT. MR. PRITCHARD, Engineer to Messrs. Learmonth of Ercildoun, and late Engineer to the Black Hill Mining Company, Ballarat, DESIGNS and SUPERVISES Construction of most Improved Machinery for Mining, Pumping, Sheep Washing, &c. 142 Collins-street West, Melbourne.

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 15 July 1868
Mr. A. Mason has been appointed missionary on the estate of the hon. T. Learmonth, Ercildoun.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 14 August 1868
RAMS for SALE. 130 pure bred Ercildoun rams, the progeny of a small stud-stock introduced last year by Messrs.’. Learmonth, via Sydney. They were lambed near Goulburn, in May, 1867, and shorn at Groongal, in October, and comprise the whole of that year’s dropping, except such as have been culled by Mr. Shaw. They are now at Groongal, near Hay, and will be sold by auction, in Hay, on Wednesday, the 16th September next, at 1 o’clock.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 29 August 1868
ADVERTISEMENT. RAMS FOR SALE. 130 pure-bred Ercildoun rams, the progeny of a small stud flock, introduced last year by Messrs. Learmonth via Sydney. They were lambed near Goulburn in May, 1867, and shorn at Groongal in October, and comprise the whole of that year’s dropping, except such as have been culled by Mr. Shaw. They are now at Groongal, near Hay, and will be Sold by Auction, in Hay, on Wednesday, the 16th September next, at one o’clock. Groongal, 25th July, 1868.

ADVERTISEMENT. Advances on Station Properties. The Trust and Agency Company of Australasia (Limited) having now a large amount of capital for investment, are prepared to make LIBERAL AND CASH ADVANCES, at reduced rates, on SQUATTING PROPERTIES in VICTORIA and NEW SOUTH WALES, BRIGHT BROTHERS and Co., Managing Agents. Solicitors – Parton and Hellins, Melbourne.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 1 September 1868
WARDENS’ COURTS. BALLARAT. Monday, 31st August. (Before Mr. Warden Sherard.) Cawley and others v Learmonth Brothers. – An application for a decoration of forfeiture of ground at Mount Egerton. Mr. Walsh for the plaintiffs. Mr. Cuthbert, for the defendant. Somerville Learmonth, objected to the warden’s jurisdiction, as the locus in quo was situated within Mr. Warden Clow’s jurisdiction, and as the defendant did not live in Mr. Sherard’s district, but nearer to the warden at Beaufort. Mr. Walsh, in reply, said that as a matter of convenience, Ballarat was the more desirable place in which to hear the case as most of the witnesses and the professional men appearing lived in Ballarat. As to jurisdiction the warden was a warden for the colony, though he might have power to order a change of venue. Mr. McDermott, at this point, appeared for the defendant, Thomas Learmonth. His worship pointed out that Ercildoun was within the mining district of Ballarat, as shown by the Government map produced. Mr. Cuthbert examined the map and Ercildoun, where Mr. Learmonth resided, was not within the district. His worship on again consulting the map said Mr. Cuthbert was right, as the Ercildoun pre-emptive was outside the district. Mr. Walsh submitted that as the summons had been accepted in Ballarat the objection to jurisdiction was void. His worship stated that Mr. S. Learmonth’s application for the Mount Egerton leases recognized the locality as within the Ballarat district. He thought that the case could go on, the service having been accepted in Ballarat. Mr. McDermott objected that mere acceptance by an attorney did not decide the issue as to residence. His worship said it cured any informality as to service. As to power to hear, he had no doubt of that; but if inconvenience were urged, that would be another question. Mr. Cuthbert said Mr. S. Learmonth was now in England, and that Mr. T. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, was his attorney and living outside the district. Mr. Learmonth examined the map with Mr. Walsh, and said his residence was within the district as shown by the map. Mr. McDermott objected, that the case must be struck out, as the summons was informal, as not describing the plaintiffs’ address with sufficient distinctness. His worship said it had been ruled that if a summons were defective in that particular, parties could apply to the plaintiffs’ solicitor for the information required Mr. Walsh asked for a postponement of the hearing, as the plaintiffs were not ready with a plan. He asked that the costs should not be asked for, or should be held over. He thought it would be best to go on in a friendly manner. Case postponed till Monday next, with £5 5s costs.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 11 September 1868
MEETINGS. Ercildoun Quartz Gold Mining Company (Registered), Mount Egerton. A meeting of the Shareholders in the above company will be held at the office of the company, 27 Lydiard Street, Ballarat, at twelve o’clock, on Monday next, 14th inst. Business – To elect directors and auditors, and transact any other business that may be brought forward. SAMUEL B. PITT, Manager.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 15 September 1868
LEXTONSHIRE COUNCIL. The council met at their offices, Lexton, on 8th September. Present – Crs. Jas. Robertson (president), Charles Schulze, William East, George Pinch, Andrew Herminston, Walter Fairlie, Henry Spiers, and the Hon. Thomas Learmonth… Cr Learmonth requested, before the ordinary business of the meeting was proceeded with, to explain that as it was his intention to visit England by next mail, it became necessary to tender his resignation. He might be permitted to remark that it was a source of congratulation to him that throughout the lengthened period of his membership, their deliberations had been conducted in a spirit free from any dissension; a fact which had been always most encouraging to him whilst assisting in directing the work of the shire. In thanking the president and members for the courteous kindness that had always been extended, he had pleasure in saying that he would take leave of them with the very gratifying assurance that, as the council was at present constituted, it will long continue its work of usefulness. The president stated that the resignation of Cr Learmonth would be a source of as much regret to ratepayers as to members. Cr Learmonth had always advocated measures, which were for the general advancement of the shire and public good. His retirement will be almost an irreparable loss to the council, and he believed would be long felt so by members. Cr Spiers remarked that he could not permit Cr Learmonth to leave the table without expressing his sense of the great loss the council was sustaining. Cr Learmonth’s long and faithful service for the shire, given, as he felt convinced, at much personal inconvenience, deserved the sincere thanks of councillors, and he believed that the impartiality that he had manifested in all matters dealt with by the council had not been unobserved, but had met with that recognition such conduct deserved. He hoped that, as the council could no longer have Mr Thomas Learmonth, that Mr Somerville Learmonth, on his arrival in the colony, which, he understood, was expected about February next, would be welcomed to a seat at this table for one of the ridings. He heartily wished Cr Learmonth a speedy voyage and an uninterrupted course of happiness.

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 26 September 1868
THE COUNTRY. Between thirty and forty gentlemen of all shades of politics met at the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute on Thursday evening, for the purpose of taking steps for a demonstration in honor of the hon. Thomas Learmonth, of Ercildoun, M.L.C. for the South-western Province, on the occasion of his leaving the colony on a visit to Europe. The Constitutional Association of Ballarat had originated the movement, but the movement has taken a wider scope. It was decided to invite Mr. Learmonth to a public soiree in the Alfred Hall, on which occasion an address should be presented to him, the meeting cordially endorsing a remark from Mr. Gibson in his motion, that Mr. Learmonth was “the type of what an Australian colonist should be.”

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 3 October 1868
A farewell picnic, was given by the Hon. T. Learmonth and Mrs. Learmonth, at Ercildoun, on Wednesday, to the employees and their families resident at the station, on the occasion of their departure from the colony. A large number of the tenantry and their families were present: the whole of those who partook of the hospitalities of Mr. and Mrs. Learmonth numbering some 200 persons. After a luncheon and some subsequent sports and amusements, and address was presented to Mr. Learmonth on behalf of the tenantry and was responded to in appropriate terms. Mr. and Mrs. Learmonth then took a parting farewell from the company, and subsequently retired amid the cheers and suppressed emotions of all present. A number of valuable presents, the gift of Mrs. Learmonth, were afterwards distributed to the past and present employees who had been or who then were engaged at the station. The children present were likewise supplied with an assortment of toys.

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 5 October 1868
BALLARAT STOCK EXCHANGE WEEKLY MINING REPORT. Excerpt – Quartz mining continues to be the rage, almost to the exclusion of alluvial ventures, and there is little doubt that this branch of mining industry is now viewed as that, which will ere long be the mainstay of the district. The great success of the New North Clunes Company, the excellent quality of the stone obtained from other mines in the same district, the magnificent yields obtained by Mr Learmonth, from his great mine at Egerton, the recorded richness of Parker’s Reef, at Gordon, and the success of numerous small parties of quartz crushers in so many different directions, taken in connection with the illimitable supply of stone at easy command, are amply sufficient to indicate in what will lie our future prosperity, provided our mines are worked for dividends, as legitimate channels for the investment of money, and not as mere speculative toys.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 8 October 1868
A demonstration of a successful character, in the form of a soiree, was given on Tuesday evening, in the Alfred-hall, Ballarat, to the Hon. T. Learmonth, on the occasion of his departure for Europe. About 500 persons were present, Mr. R. Lewis, president of the district hospital, acting as chairman. Addresses were delivered by the chairman, Mr. Joseph Jones, President of the Mechanics’ Institute; and a formal address was read by Mr. W. H. Batten, and bore the signatures of the mayor of Ballarat (Mr. Davey), and Messrs. Lewis, Doane, Jones, and Gibbs, presidents of the Hospital, Benevolent Asylum, Mechanics’ Institute and Orphan Asylum, respectively. Mr. Learmonth read a written reply, and also added a few remarks, in the course of which he promised to invest £1000 in municipal debentures as a parting gift towards the extension of the district hospital. An address from the local Agricultural and Pastoral Society was then read, and was replied to by Mr. Learmonth, who added to his written remarks a few observations, in which he said – “The allusion to merino wool was not without significance, for he might inform his lady friends that the beautiful gausy fabrics they wore were probably made of wool grown on the Ercildoun hills. It was a fact that those fabrics could only be made from wool grown within eight or ten miles of Ballarat, and with a little extra care the product might be grown successfully, and by realizing an extra shilling per pound something like £500,000 a year would be added to our revenue.” The celebration altogether passed off admirably, and a very cordial tone pervaded it throughout.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 10 October 1868
TOPICS OF THE WEEK. The Alfred-hall at Ballarat has been desecrated, and all the glitter of its recent glory removed from it. While Mr. Higinbotham promulgated the gospel of Loyal Liberalism, and discounted on the creed of true political believers, a Constitutionalist has been feted and testimonalised. It is a sad thing that people will not be as rabid as Mr. Higinbotham desires them to be. Almost the same persons who not long ago applauded Mr. Higinbotham to the echo, assembled on Tuesday evening to do honour to an uncompromising Constitutionalist, the Hon. T. Learmonth, and were quite as demonstrative on his behalf as they had previously been in favour of the late Attorney-General. The public evidently decline to carry political warfare to “its legitimate issues.” They continue to recognize the merits of a man who opposes Mr. Higinbotham’s political assumptions, and attempts to thwart his efforts. Why will they strengthen the unrighteous and associate with scorners? Mr. Higinbotham must be greatly discouraged to find that the same roof, which recently resounded with cheers in his honour, should now be resonant of applause evoked by one of the “vile faction.” Men are so inconsistent.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 10 October 1868
FAREWELL SOIREE TO THE HONORABLE THOMAS LEARMONTH, M.L.C. The soiree in honor of the Hon. Thomas Learmonth, M.L.C., on the occasion of his departure for Europe, was held on the night of Tuesday, 6th October, in the Alfred Hall, Ballarat. Five tables ran along the whole length of the hall, and one across the hall in front of the orchestra, all the tables being filled with guests, of whom there were not fewer than between 400 and 500, including a large number of ladies. At the cross-table, which was raised above the floor, sat the chairman, Mr. Robert Lewis, president of the District Hospital. On his right was the guest of the evening, and on either side members of various public bodies. In the hall, scattered about among the general body of guests, were most of our leading citizens of all trades, and professions, and beliefs, for the guest of the evening had long held the respect of “all sorts and conditions of people” in this district. The assembly was a real expression of the spontaneity which marked the first meeting of citizens held to initiate the celebration, for the guests that met in the hall represented not only much of the “wealth and intelligence,” but of the moral worth of the town and district. The Constitutional Association of Ballarat had originated the movement, but it was felt that though Mr. Learmonth was more closely allied in politics with the Constitutional party, he had won the respect of all classes of society and all parties in politics by his generous self-identification with all philanthropic and other movements for the good of the district, so that the most proper recognition of his public services would be one in which the general public could unite. At the soiree, the creature comforts were well cared for. Music also heightened the sober pleasures of the material feast, ladies and gentlemen well known to local fame as musicians lending their services and singing several selections of pleasant music. After tea, the assemblage was eloquently and pertinently addressed by the chairman, and by Mr. Joseph Jones. Mr. W. H. Batten, secretary of the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute, then read the following address: –

Sirs, – We the inhabitants of Ballarat and surrounding districts having heard with great regret that you are about to take your departure for Europe, have invited you here this evening, in order that we might avail ourselves of the opportunity which this evening gives us of publicly expressing those sentiments of high regard and esteem towards you, with which your long, honorable, and useful career in this community have inspired us. We are aware that if we had consulted your wishes solely, our demonstration, if made at all, must have assumed much more private and more modest proportions. But we felt that we had a public duty to perform which must be discharged in a public manner, although that course might in some respects be inadequate to the purpose, and must entail some personal sacrifice upon you. One of the earliest pioneers in this district you have seen this Australian wilderness, literally the uttermost ends of the earth, transformed into the habitation of a great and flourishing community. Changes such as few men have known even in the longest span of life have passed quickly before you, until the place where once your flocks pastured, tended by solitary shepherd, has now become a great city full of the life and activity, the comforts and luxury, of the highest civilization. The society in which you have lived has altered as swiftly and as greatly as the outward appearance of the land itself. The objects of public life, the social code of morality, and the tone and force of public opinion, must have widely varied during mutations so great and so rapid as those which you have witnessed; and it gives us great pleasure to remember that through all these transformations, your influence and assistance have ever been unobtrusively but most effectively in aid of every social effort to elevate and educate the community at large, and every Christian endeavor to unite all classes and all sects in the bond of brotherhood, and in the practice of that pure and undefiled religion which visits the fatherless and widows in their affliction. In your intimate connection with the great staple industries of the colony, we rejoice that your well-directed efforts and ability have met with merited and almost unrivalled success, and it must be a source of gratification to you that the country at large has profited by the intelligent foresight and perseverance…the writing now becomes too hard to decipher.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 15 October 1868
BALLARAT (from our own correspondent.) A peculiar geological formation is reported to have been found in the claim of the Ercildoun Company, at Egerton. It appears that after going through some 90 or 100 feet of pipeclay and slate, or, as the original formation is generally called reef, the men suddenly came upon volcanic or basaltic rock, an indication that sorely puzzled them. The extent of it is not known yet, but the opinion is that some of the old hills have been thrown on to the basalt, or that some great landslip had occurred at the time the reef was deposited on the bluestone.

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 23 October 1868
THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SHOW AT BALLARAT. Sheep Sec. 1. Merino or Saxony Sheep – Merino or Saxony ram (four-tooth and upwards): 1st T. and S. Learmonth, Ercildoun. 2nd, Thos. Shaw, jun. Sec. 2 Merino or Saxony ram (two-tooth): 1st. T. and S. Learmonth, Ercildoun. 2nd A. W. Campbell, Geelong. The champion ram in secs. 1 and 2: The Board’s prize of £15, in addition, T. and S. Learmonth. Sec. 3. Pair of Merino or Saxony ewes (four-tooth and upwards): 1st T. and S. Learmonth; 2nd. Thos. Shaw, jun.; Sec. 4. Pair of Merino or Saxony ewes (four-tooth and upwards): 1st, Phillip Russell, Carngham; 2nd T. and S. Learmonth. The champion pair of ewes in sections 3 and 4: The Board’s prize of £10, in addition, T. and S. Learmonth.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 24 October 1868
THE NATIONAL EXHIBITION. Excerpt – The sheep of the first day’s show were of course still on view, and the fine display drew hosts of visitors. It is certainly gratifying to the local visitor to note that Mr Learmonth and Mr Russell have been in the front rank as heretofore, and that the grower, who has beaten the whole world of sheep farmers, is of this district and president of the local society.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 24 October 1868
Fourteen deer passed through Ballarat on Thursday, on their way to Mr. Learmonth’s station at Ercildoun.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 31 October 1868
NEWS AND NOTES. A gentleman, just returned from Pleasant Creek, informs us that carpenters are in request there at the works about the reefs. We learn also that his Excellency the Governor and Lady Sutton and suite stayed at the Trawalla hotel on Wednesday night, and at 12 o’clock on Thursday left for Ercildoun, where the vice regal party will remain till Monday, when they will visit Ballarat, as has been announced by telegram elsewhere.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 5 November 1868
THE GOVERNOR’S VISIT TO BALLARAT. Excerpt – His Excellency, Lady Manners Sutton, Miss Manners Sutton, Mrs. Steinfield, Miss Aylmer, Miss Wynne, Mr. Manners Sutton, Mr. Van Amstel, Mr. Learmonth, Mr. Wynne, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Forbes (who superintended the operation) were all lowered down in to the No. 2 shaft of the Band of Hope and Albion Consols Company’s workings. The article also mentions that there were stables underground and that the half-a-dozen animals, were in aparently excellent condition, when exhibited to His Excellency, who, in answer to questions, was enlightened as to the mode adopted in lowering the horses to the workings, and their mode of treatment generally, which, judging from appearance, he thought could not be very bad.

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) 9 November 1868
THE LAND. Reports have reached us of the National Show at Ballarat. It extended over two days. The first was somewhat discouraging; but the second made amends, and the affair seems to have passed off with great success. The judges of merinos were G. Peppin, D. McPherson, A. Robertson, and J. Kelsall. The champion ram prize was won by T. and S. Learmonth; the aged ram prize was won by T. and S. Learmonth, Thomas Shaw coming second; the 2-tooth ram prize was won by T. and S. Learmonth and A.N. Campbell, 1st and 2nd. The aged ewe prize were taken by T. and S. Learmonth and Thomas Shaw, 1 and 2 respectively. The prize for the 2-tooth ewes was won by Philip Russell and T. and S. Learmonth, 1st and 2nd respectively. Nor was this success sufficient for the brothers Learmonth, for they also carried off the champion “pair of ewes” prize. The sheep show wanted condition, and might have been better, but as this is a subject of much importance we here quote from the special report of the Australasian : –

As a whole, the sheep classes were fairly filled, and the names of the winners and losers will show that the exhibits were mostly of first-rate quality; but except in a few sections the entries were not by nay means numerous. Commencing with the merino rams of all ages, the first in order on the list, there were seven pens filled; and the first, as well as the champion prize, fell to the lot of the Messrs. Learmonth. The sheep so distinguished was of the size and quality to be expected; still we fancy that we have seen champions from the Ercildoun flock show to better advantage. But a trifling change in condition makes a very great alteration in the appearance of even the same animal, and, as a rule, the sheep are not in bad condition this season. The second prize was taken by Mr. Thomas Shaw, jun., and we need not describe the characteristics of an animal exhibited by the steady upholder of the Australian merino. Mr. A. N. Campbell showed his American merino in this class; but the only nearness of competition was between the two animals placed first and second. In the two-tooth section there were six entries, and still less competition, for Mr. Shaw had nothing in it. Therefore, the Messrs. Learmonth won an easy first, and Mr. Campbell a second, with aparently the same little sheep, which was placed first at Geelong. For the ewe prizes the entries were more numerous, ten pens filling in the first section and eleven in the second. Thus, there were some fresh competitors here, and fresh names to enter in the prize-list. Still, the Messrs. Learmonth were first, and took the champion prize, and Mr. Shaw was placed second, for the older ewes, while Mr. Armstrong came in third with the Warrembeen sheep. These, with evident traces of the German blood in them, bore denser fleeces than their Australian opponents, yet with little loss of the silky combing quality, and were, what any one at a glance would call, good paying sheep. Mr. Philip Russell was also a competitor in this section with some of his strong even-quality sheep, and took the first prize amongst the two-tooth ewes. A pen of the Messrs. Learmonth’s came second, and the Warrembeen sheep again third. Messrs. Griffiths and Greene had two pens of young ewes in this section, with nice soft wool, but also with the faults of the Australian merino rather too apparent…

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) 9 November 1868
VICTORIA. We have our files from Melbourne to the 4th instant. The Argus of that date says: His Excellency and Lady Manners Sutton arrived in Melbourne last night by the late train from Ballarat, after their tour in the Western and North-western districts. They reached Ballarat from Ercildoun at half-past twelve o’clock, and were entertained at lunch at Craig’s Hotel by the mayors of the two Ballarats. They afterwards visited some of the mining claims, and made a round of inspection of the public buildings.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 11 December 1868
NEWS AND NOTES. In the window of Mr. Bardwell’s Royal Studio, Sturt street, there is a pretty photographic novelty. It is a photograph of a splendid damask rose, grown by Mr. Learmonth of Ercildoun, who brought it in for the purpose of having it photographed. The coloring artist has succeeded in making the photograph into a brilliant little picture in oil, which, though large as a photograph, is said to be only about two-thirds the size of the flower itself.

The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.) 12 December 1868
SHEEP WASHING AT JONDARYAN. A few days since we paid a visit to the Long Waterhole in order to see the new appliances for sheep-washing there, recently erected by Messrs. Kent and Wienholt, the proprietors of Jondaryan station. The machinery connected with the washing department of this extensive sheep-farming establishment is admitted to be the most effective and complete of any yet introduced into Queensland – being the exact counterpart of that now employed by Messrs. Learmonth, of Victoria. (*The heritage-listed Woolshed at Jondaryan is the oldest and largest operating Woolshed of its kind in the world with over 150 years of history.)

The Bacchus Marsh Express (Vic.) 30 January 1869
EGERTON AND GORDONS. The long-continued drought has had the effect of drying up the reservoirs in which water was stored for the supply of Mr. Learmonth’s battery, and consequently stopping the works, throwing upwards of fifty men out of employment, until a fresh supply of that liquid is obtained.
Excerpt – The Ercildoun shaft is down 202 feet. Sinking beautiful and soft, with occasional gold-bearing loaders.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 19 February 1869
£100 REWARD. WHEREAS some malicious person did, on the 17th day of February instant, SET FIRE TO A TREE on the ERCILDOUN ESTATE, about nine feet from the ground, with the intention of Setting Fire to the Grass; and whereas, on the 11th day of February instant, a tree was set fire to in a similar manner on another part of the Ercildoun Estate, and a considerable area of grass burned in consequence; a Reward of £100 is hereby offered to any one giving such information as shall lead to the Conviction of the Offender. T. & S. LEARMONTH. Ercildoun, 18th February, 1869.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 31 March 1869
ERCILDOUN QUARTZ COMPANY EGERTON. The quarterly meeting was held on Tuesday, at the Brunswick hotel. The directors’ report stated that since the last quarterly meeting the works had been pushed on with all speed, and it was expected that they would soon cut Learmonth’s lode on its underlay. The mining manager reported that the hard rock that had retarded the sinking had now been got through, and the shaft was now 303 feet down with very little water. Several thick good looking auriferous quartz leaders had been passed through dipping to the westward, as if to join the Learmonth lode. The legal manager’s report and balance sheet were also submitted to the meeting, the latter showing the receipts to amount to £392, 18s 2d, and the expenditure to £346 4s 6d, leaving a balance in hand of £46 13s 8d. The retiring directors and auditors were re-elected. (*As at 21/11/68 the depth was 140’ and as at 1/11/69 – 381’)

The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 3 April 1869
Letter from JUMBUCK. LEICESTER-MERINO SHEEP. “I am induced to make a few remarks on the Leicester-cum-merino question, which has occupied a considerable space in your columns during the last few weeks. Whilst agreeing with the concluding portion of your correspondent, Mr. Mee’s letter in your issue of March 20, as to the propriety of combining grazing with agriculture, I must join issue with him in his deductions in the first portion of that letter with respect to sheep-breeding, and I am confident – he will have serious difficulties in the way of finding any breeder of note to endorse his opinions on that subject. Mr. Mee starts on false premises, and no amount of reasoning can make his arguments tenable under such circumstances. It is an old but true maxim, that no theory can be of any value unless, after being duly tested by practice, it has been found to have produced good practical results; and nothing can be easier than to show that the theory of in-and-in breeding, which Mr. Mee so much decries, has been thoroughly tested, and found to have produced the most valuable results. I imagine that Mr. Learmonth of Ercildoun, would not consider himself at all complimented should he come to hear that he had been represented as a staunch advocate for cross-breeding, and Mr. Mee’s remarks, in the letter under consideration, would certainly lead us to infer that M. L. advocated such principles. I can equally imagine the horror which would be depicted in the countenance of the great American champion of in-and-in breeding, Dr. Randall, if he were to be told that in the columns of the most largely circulated newspaper in one of the most important wool-growing colonies under the British Crown, his valuable works on the subject of breeding had been distorted into an argument for upholding cross-breeding. Had Mr. Mee rested contented with the answer that a first cross between the Australian merino and the English Leicester produced a serviceable sheep for the small farmer, giving a heavier carcass than the former and a finer wool than the latter, few perhaps would have cared to dispute his position; but when he affirms, as he does in his letter, that “by continual in-and-in breeding any sheep in the world would deteriorate, and eventually become worthless,” he makes an assertion which no breeder of the present day, deserving the name of such, can endorse. Leaving for a moment the opinions of Mr. Learmonth and Dr. Randall to be treated of in a subsequent portion of this letter, let us glance at a few facts in connection with the most superior breeds of cattle, sheep, horses of the present day, and see how far Mr. Mee’s ideas on the subject will agree with the recognized rules of breeding which have been followed in bringing them to their present state of perfection. The great law of nature that “like begets like” can never be ignored; and the converse law that “diversity begets variation,” is equally acknowledged by all who know anything of the true principles of breeding. Now a glance at the stud, herd, and flock books of England, America, France, Spain, or Germany will show that the great perfection attained in the breeding of the various classes of stock in these countries, has been brought about, solely by a strict adherence to the dictates of the former of these laws. The present excellence of the English racehorse is the result of in-and-in breeding for a very long series of years; and your readers do not require to be told that the most celebrated performers on the turf have been those that have been the closest in-bred. Mr. Mee cannot dispute the fact that it was by the closest system of in-and-in breeding that the short-horn cattle have been brought up to their present high standard; and I submit – and I do so respectfully – that your correspondent, before giving vent in the public Press to such an unfounded charge against the in-and-in system as that quoted above, ought to have enquired and satisfied himself as to the fact (for fact it undoubtedly is) that the Leicester’s he so justly prizes – in common with others – were first formed into a distinct breed, and their excellent qualities since maintained, purely by a strict adherence to the rules of in-and-in breeding. The history of the Spanish merino too, would have supplied Mr. Mee with a striking instance of the incorrectness of his arguments. The purity and excellence of that beautiful class of sheep have been preserved through many centuries by a continuous system of in-breeding. I could multiply instances ad infinitum to prove that this is the only correct system of breeding; but I feel that to do so, would only be to occupy your valuable space to no purpose, the facts being so well known to all breeders and I can only account for Mr. Mee’s opinion by supposing that he must either be writing on a subject new to him, or that his experience must have been gathered from some of the early Australian settlers, whom Mr. Thomas Shaw so quaintly informs us “displayed the greatest and most numerous errors it was possible for their theoretical proceedings to accomplish, by mixing all types together.” Mr. Mee, I presume, will not dispute the existence of nature’s great law above quoted that “like begets like,” and that being granted, a little consideration will show him that to carry it into effect properly, the likeness in the animals coupled, must be as complete as possible, and this likeness cannot, of course, be expected to be in every way so strong in any animals as in those close related. Now as the gregarious animals do not recognize the relationship, there can be no reason why, with the above facts in view, in-and-in-breeding should not be resorted to. A very few facts to show the efficacy of the system will tend more to convince your correspondent of the fallacy of his notions of breeding, than volumes written in support of the opposite theory. Mr. Macknight in his excellent pamphlet on “The True Principles of Breeding,” published by the Acclimatisation Society of Melbourne (and I should advise Mr. Mee to invest a shilling in the purchase of this valuable little pamphlet), gives many facts to show the extent to which in-and-in breeding has been carried in England, and from that pamphlet I give the following short extract: –

The majority of the most celebrated breeders and improvers of English cattle have been close in-and-in breeders – such as Bakewell the founder of the improved long-horn cattle; Price, the most successful breeder, until twenty years ago, of Herefords; Collings, Bates, the Booths, &c., &c., breeders of short-horns. In the first volume of the American Short-horn Herd Book (edited by Louis T. Allen) are diagrams showing the continuous and close in-and-in breeding which produced the bull ‘Comet,’ by far the most superb animal of his day, which sold at Charles Collings sale for the unprecedented price of one thousand guineas. His pedigree cannot be stated so as to make the extent of the in-breeding of which he was the result, fully apparent, except to persons familiar with such things; and such persons probably need no information on the subject. But this much all will see the force of. The bull “Bollingbroke’ and the cow ‘Phoenix’ which were more closely related to each other than half brother and sister, were coupled and produced the bull ‘Favorite.’ ‘Favorite’ was then coupled with his own dam, and produced the famed cow ‘Young Phoenix.’ He was then coupled with his own daughter, and their produce was the world-famed ‘Comet.’ One of the best breeding cows in Sir Charles Knightly’s herd ‘Restless,’ was the result of still more continuous in-and-in breeding. The bull ‘Favorite’ was put to his own daughter, and so on to the produce of his produce for six generations in regular succession. The cow which was the result of the sixth inter-breeding was then put to the bull ‘Wellington,’ deeply interbred on the side of both sire and dam in the blood of ‘Favorite’ and the produce was the cow ‘Clarissa,’ an admirable animal and the mother of ‘Restless.’ Mr. Bates, whose shorthorns were never excelled, if equaled, in England, owned the famous ‘Duchess’ family (to which the one thousand guinea heifer referred to belongs), put sire to daughter and grand-daughter, son to dam and grand-dam, and brother to sister, indifferently – his rule being always to put the best animals together regardless of affinity of blood. Mr. Price, whose Herefords were the best in England in his day, declared in an article published in the British Farmers’ Magazine, that he had not gone beyond his own herd for a bull or cow for forty years. It is not denied that Bakewell selected his original flock of long-woolled sheep from different flocks and families, wherever he could obtain most perfection; but after that he bred in-and-in to the period of his death, and the Dishley sheep (the improved Leicesters) did not exhibit a trace of their subsequent feebleness of constitution when under his direction. This statement will also apply to Jonas Webb, the famed breeder of South Downs.” Mr. Mee, if he is acquainted with Dr. Randall’s valuable treatises on breeding, will notice that several of the facts, noticed by Mr. Macknight above, are also quoted by him.

I unfortunately have not Mr. Randall’s work beside me at the present moment, otherwise I could quote from that work to show that the world-renowned American ram ‘Grimes’ was the result of in-and-in breeding, closer even than that of the cow ‘Restless’ above noticed. This ram, as many readers know, was shown in Germany a few years ago, and carried off the principal prize, beating the best merino sheep from all parts of Europe. I could quote cases in my own knowledge, where the Cheviot sheep in the county Sutherland, Scotland, had been brought to such a state of perfection by a system of in-breeding as to compete successfully with those on the Cheviot Hills, where both pasture and climate are in every way more favorable for the development of their good qualities; but, I do not require to go so far for an example of this kind, as the history of the Ercildoun flocks of Victoria (Learmonth’s) afford sufficient proof. Mr. Learmonth has pursued a steady course of in-breeding for over twenty years, and I have it from his own lips that no foreign blood has been introduced into the Ercildoun flocks since 1847. By the adoption of this course, and, of course, by exercising the greatest care in the selection of the animals to be coupled, the Messrs. Learmonth have succeeded in establishing a type of Australian merinos which are the envy of all the other colonies. Mr. T. Learmonth, however, does not arrogate to himself the credit of having formed this beautiful type of the Australian Merino. To Mr. Thomas Shaw, now of Talgai, is due the sole credit of bringing the Ercildoun flocks into favourable notice.

I heartily share Mr. Mee’s high opinion of the latter gentleman as a breeder; but does not Mr. Mee see that, in the extract he gives from Mr. Shaw’s paper on “Nature’s Course in Breeding,” he is “burking” his own argument? – one, on which he places great weight, namely, that “pasture, more than anything in the world, is to be considered in connection with the science of wool culture?” I happen to know Mr. Shaw’s ideas on this subject well, and if Mr. Mee will substitute the word “climate” for “pasture,” he will more correctly state Mr. Shaw’s views. Or course, good wool cannot be grown in the absence of good feed, but it is the climate and not the feed, which fixes the type of the wool. Here again I think Mr. Mee is at fault in writing on a subject without having given it due consideration. Is it not a fact that the Merino proved a failure in England? And why was it so? The pastures there are better and richer than, perhaps, on any other portion of the globe. The sole cause was the rigorous nature of the English climate, for we find these identical, same sheep transferred from Hampton Court to the scanty pastures of Macarthur’s run, at Camden Park, and, under the influence of the Australian climate, producing the finest wool in the world. “Old Colonist” has answered the argument of the Leicester-Merino cross so much more ably than I could do, that he has left me nothing to say on the subject. To show Mr. Mee, however, that “Old Colonist’s” opinions on the subject are not the result of “prejudice,” I will give a very short quotation from Dr. Madden, a very popular writer on this subject. Dr. Madden says: – “When, therefore, you cross a long established breed with another family, you literally commence a new experiment, introducing an element of uncertainty which may effect results during a long series of generations,” &c., &c. One other instance of the correctness of “Old Colonist’s” argument on this point, and I have done. It has long been acknowledged that the finest beef to be procured at the shambles in London is the produce of the first cross between a short-horn bull and the polled Scots cow of Aberdeenshire, and it is equally well known to every farmer – in Great Britain, at least – that a second or subsequent cross produces a thriftless animal, unprofitable alike to the grazier and butcher. It may be true, as Mr. Mee asserts, that the Leicester-cum-merino has proved a great success in New Zealand; but I claim a right to say a word on that point also. During the years 1864-68, inclusive, I attended the wool sales in Sydney pretty regularly, and have frequently seen Leicester-merino wool from New Zealand put up for sale at the Exchange, but I have never seen it realize remunerative prices. Contrast this with the fact that in 1864 I saw a consignment of rams, bred on Mr. Rich’s establishment in New Zealand (Rambouillet-merinos), sold by Mr. Martyn, at his bazaar, in Pitt-street, at almost fabulous prices. I must not be considered as advocating indiscriminate in-and-in breeding. It has been well put by a writer on the subject, that by in-and-in breeding a power is placed in the hands of the breeder, which, like those of fire and water, is “a good servant but a bad master.” Without careful selection, stock will deteriorate even more under a system of in-breeding, than under cross-breeding, and hence the necessity for one but those acquainted with the subject undertaking the business of a breeder. Apologising for the length to which I have carried this letter, JUMBUCK.

The Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald & General Advertiser (Qld.) 13 April 1869
SHEEP IN QUEENSLAND. Excerpts – Total shown was 8,846,634 in 1868, an increase of thirteen percent. Importations from Victoria from the flocks of Messrs. Learmonth, Ercildoun; Shaw, Mount Shadwell; Dight, Coliban Park; and Bell and Armstrong, Warrambeen. Those imported from Europe were a German modification of the Rambouillet type.

The Ballarat Star (Vic. 20 April 1869
NEWS AND NOTES. Amongst the obituary notices in our paper of today we record the death of a very old colonist, whose name is associated extensively and honorably with the district. Thomas Livingstone Learmonth, dying at the ripe old age of 89 years, came to this colony with his sons T.L. and S.L. Learmonth, early in the year 1838. The family had been some time previously settled in Tasmania before they came to this district, and the gentleman whose death we now record would probably rank amongst the oldest of Australian colonists. He died at Park Hall, Stirlingshire, Scotland, on the 8th February last, news of his death having reached his sons at Ercildoun by the mail just arrived.

The Queenslander (Qld.) 15 May 1869
INTER-BREEDING. JUMBUCK. Another very detailed letter. First paragraph – “It not unfrequently happens – unfortunately – that when any subject is being discussed in the columns of a newspaper from the opposite stand-points, the parties to the discussion, to a certain extent, ignore the merits of the question at issue in the indulgence of a little personal vituperation.” More discussion about Mr. Mee, Mr. Bayly & Ors.

And the last paragraph of his letter states – On a careful study of the subject of breeding, no other than the following conclusions can be arrived at: –
1. That all the best breeds of domestic animals have been produced by a long course of in-and-in breeding, accompanied by careful selection.
2. That an adherence to the opposite course has signally failed to produce animals having any fixity of type or character, and
3. That if we commence with healthy animals, in-and-in breeding, with judicious selection, so far from weakening the constitution, tends greatly to intensify their inherent good qualities.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 20 May 1869
BALLARAT – from our own correspondent. The manager of the Ercildoun Company reports that – “unexpected evidence of the value of the company’s claim has recently been adduced. A recent survey of the Black Horse and Learmonth Reefs, made by the managers of these two claims, proves these reefs to be two distinct payable lodes, about 250ft. apart and trending in a south-westerly direction right through the Ercildoun Company’s claim, &c.” This is exactly the same report alluded to last week, which caused such a demand for Flying Scud and other shares, on the alleged courses of these reefs. Few people believed in the report; few knew who were said to have made the surveys, and fewer still seem to have believed in the survey if made, as the Scud shares have declined again. If the manager of the Ercildoun Company be correct, there ought not to be much difficulty in knowing more about this survey, as although it might not be prudent for Mr. Learmonth or the Black Horse Company to let their neighbours know too much of their relative prospects, one would think there should be no objection to their respective managers denying the truth of the reported survey if it be not true. If they refrain from admitting the truth of it, people will then use their own discretion: but the truth or otherwise of the report is of such vast importance to a number of claims there, that it would be very undesirable to withhold the facts from the public. (*Mining in the Ercildoun Company ceased in 1910 after £2 million worth of gold was extracted.)

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 5 July 1869
BALLARAT. Six fine hares were yesterday evening received per train from Mr. William Lyall as a present to Messrs. Hepburn and Leonard, to stock the country round Ballarat. These gentlemen at once forwarded them to Ercildoun to the care of the Messrs. Learmonth to get a number more of the same interesting animals in a few weeks to add to the present lot. *(I’m not sure that they quite understood their prolific reproductive capabilities! The Ballarat Star of 30 November 1874 states that the hares are most prolific on the Ercildoune Estate. It is scarcely possible to walk fifty yards without disturbing game.)

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 26 July 1869
BALLARAT CIRCUIT COURT. (Before his Honor Mr Justice Barry.) EGERTON BANK ROBBERY – This case was continued.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 4 September 1869
MONDAY, 6th SEPTEMBER. ERCILDOUN QUARTZ GOLD MINING COMPANY, EGERTON. SALE OF FORFEITED SHARES. W. S. KEMP will SELL by AUCTION, on Monday 6th September, SHARES in the above company FORFEITED for non-payment of 11th Call. SAMUEL H. PITT, Manager.

The Illustrated Australian News for Home Readers (Melbourne) 4 September 1869
This reef was being worked fifteen years ago, and some splendid stone, in an auriferous point of view, was procured in various portions of the hill; so rich was it that £1125, cash, was given for one-fifth share in a piece of ground 24 feet square. The crushing in those days was very defective and very expensive, and the reef was ultimately abandoned as not being sufficiently payable. In 1856 there were upwards of twenty machines of one kind or other all being worked, and notwithstanding the high price charged for crushing the owners of the machines had to abandon the ground, ruin in one of its multifarious shapes having overtaken all but Messrs Blake and Parker. The tailings from these primitive machines have twice been re-crushed and have paid well. When the Gordon’s goldfield broke out only two parties continued working on the hill, and £50 would have bought up the whole area. Harrison and party shortly “took up” the rest of the hill and did very well out of it. He afterwards sold out to Mr John Reid, subject to certain conditions, which were some time after upset on an application by Reid to the Supreme Court. In the beginning of 1863 Mr John Reid sold his claim and crushing plant to Mr Learmonth for £7,000, who worked it profitably till the beginning of 1867, when it was supposed to be worked out and was almost abandoned. After a while Mr W. Bailey was appointed manager, and since then the average quantity of stone crushed has been 250 tons per week from four different levels from 100 feet to 350 feet deep. The south shaft has been sunk an additional 100 feet, and all the quartz is raised from this shaft. When the 200 feet level was reached, it was found that a break or “slide” of the reef had taken place and the lode had been heaved 120 feet to the north-east and into the ground of “The Puddlers’ Company.” This has given rise to a lawsuit between Mr Learmonth and the Puddlers’ Company. The lode when it was recovered in the ground of the latter company was found to be thirty-five feet thick, about half of which is crushed. The stone when first found in the Puddlers’ claim was very fine, and the yields were enormous for the first twelve months; the average yield for the last twelve months has been 14 dwt to the ton. A new shaft has been sunk about a thousand feet to the north of the old one and has been carried down to a depth of 400 feet, and the miners are now driving for the Black Horse lode. There is little difference in the quality of the stone at the various levels, but good patches are obtained here and there in the workings. Learmonth’s lode bears 19 degrees east of north, and passes through a good portion of the “Black Horse” claim. The Black Horse reef is a separate lode, the bearings corresponding with Learmonth’s lode, and both are trending through the “Flying Scud” ground. The machinery was erected between nine and ten years ago, for the Rose Quartz Mining Company, whose claim (formerly called “The Little Hill,”) was situated about half a mile south of Mr Learmonth’s present workings. This claim is held by Mr Learmonth by lease, but has not been worked since it came into his possession. The battery comprises 23 heads of revolving stampers, driven by a 16-inch cylinder, condensing engine. The gold is saved by ripple tables, blankets and an ordinary amalgamating barrel. The average number of men employed is sixty and the weekly expenses about £200. About two miles to the east of Egerton, two alluvial claims, viz., the “Dan O’Connell” and the “General Washington” are being worked. The Dan O’Connell shaft has been sunk 160 feet, but the water is now too much for a whim to discharge, and the party is endeavoring to purchase an engine. The Washington shaft has been sunk to a depth of 195 feet, and the funds of the party being exhausted, they intend putting the claim in the market. If the results of some Chinamen’s workings in the direct line, at a depth of 80 feet, may be taken as an indication of the auriferous character of the ground, there can be no doubt of the venture being a good one. A large, agricultural population occupy the surrounding district, the ground being principally taken up under the 42nd clause. The land is of fine quality, that in the neighborhood of the Black Hill being as good as any to be found in the world. The township has grown considerably during the past eighteen months, and altogether the prospects of the place are cheering.
(The illustrations of Learmonth’s claim in our present issue represent first the south shaft or surface works; then the men at lunch in one of the drives. Next we have two drives, in the upper of which a miner is putting in a shot, and in the lower we see men engaged in clearing away a loading. The last represents the process of receiving the gold stone through shoots from the upper to the lower drive in order to be transported in trucks to the bottom of the shaft, from which it will be raised to the surface works to be crushed.)

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 18 September 1869
WESTERN DISTRICT PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY’S ANNUAL SHOW. Excerpt – To speak of the exhibits of such wool-growers as the Messrs Learmonth, some of whose products have been characterized by the highest authorities in London as, if we recollect alright, absolute perfection, is somewhat like singing a well-known song. Their first prize pens of which there were three out of the four, and the champion ram, together with the third champion ram, were just an exhibition of the real Ercildoun style for long, fine, silky staple of wool. More need not be said. (Overall they achieved six firsts and two seconds.)

The Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA) 6 October 1869
SHEEP-WASHING. The settlers are advised to return to the system of cold water washing generally, and carefully to avoid the use of soda or chemicals of any kind. But had soda not been used the Mount Fyans wool would never have fetched 4s. a lb. and upwards, nor would much of the Ercildoun, or Larra, or Wooriwyrite wool have fetched from 2s. 6d. to 3s a lb. last year…..

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 14 October 1869
BALLARAT AGRICULTURAL SHOW. “As usual Messrs T. and S. Learmonth took the lion’s share of the prizes for their sheep.”

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 26 February 1870
WOOL WASHING. Letter from Thomas Shaw, Jun.
Last paragraph: A variety of degrees of temperature, of quantities of soap and soda to hard or soft water, and greater or less pressures on spouts, may be successful or not successful, but at the present I swear by the common spout, little or no soda to soft water, as much as you like to hard water, and hot water at 100° – because in this way was washed a fleece of mine, exhibited in Melbourne, pronounced “perfect”; and because my bale of wool in the Melbourne Wool Exhibition, washed in this way, was pronounced by the best colonial judges to be splendid, in these words – “The quality, condition, and colour of this wool is splendid.” The best judges in London said of its sister bale in the exhibition there, open to the world, “A perfect bale of wool, splendid condition.” And of the Ercildoun bales at the same exhibitions, washed in the same way, the colonial judges said, “The quality, condition, and colour of this wool is splendid.” Of its sister bale the London judges said, in rapt enthusiasm, “Absolute perfection. The handsomest bale of wool we ever saw.”

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 18 January 1870
HISTORY OF BALLARAT. BALLARAT BEFORE THE GOLD DISCOVERY. While the sailor-King William IV was but newly buried, and Queen Victoria was still an uncrowned maiden; whilst only a few rude huts, sprinkled about the still uncleared slopes and gullies, failed to scare away the native animals that haunted the bush where the City of Melbourne now stands; while the pleasant borders of the Bay of Corio, where Geelong is to-day, were not graced by a single house, but only bore on their silent slopes a few scattered tents, a small band of settlers started from the Corio shore to explore the unknown country to the north-west. This was the month of August 1837. The party comprised Mr Thomas Livingstone Learmonth; Mr. D’Arcy, a surveyor; Dr. Thompson, late of Geelong; Mr David Fisher, then manager of the Derwent Company, Tasmania; Captain Hutton of the East India Company’s Service; and Mr Henry Anderson. With them they took suitable equipment and provisions. From Bellpost Hill they saw in the distance, north-westward, a mount, and they directed their course to that mount, steering their way by compass, and thus they arrived at, and ascended Mount Buninyong. From the Mount the explorers saw fine country to the north-westward, Lake Burrumbeet, and the distant ranges of the Pyrenees and the Grampians. An ocean of forest, with island hills, was all around them, but not a speck visible that spoke to them of civilization. But the promising landscape drew the explorers on westward and north-westward. They descended the Mount, the party divided, their compass-bearings were but well kept, the provision-cart failed to be at the appointed rendezvous, and thus, broken into sections, the explorers found their way back to the coast, some of them unable to find their provisions, and therefore fasting by the way.

In January of the next year, explorers set out again. The party this time consisted of Messrs J. Aitken, Henry Anderson, Thomas L. Learmonth, Somerville L. Learmonth and William Yuille. The starting point was Mr Aitken’s house, at Mount Aitken, and thence the explorers went towards Mount Alexander, which at that time had just been occupied by a party of overlanders from Sydney, consisting of Messrs. C.H. Ebden, Yaldwin, and Mollison. From Mount Alexander, they followed the course of the Loddon, passed over what has since been proved to be a rich auriferous country, and bore down on a prominent peak, which the explorers subsequently called Ercildoun, from the old keep on the Scottish border, with which the name of the Learmonths’ ancestor, Thomas the Rhymer, was associated. Their course brought them to the lake district of Burrumbeet and its rich natural pastures. The days were hot, but the night’s cold, and the party, camping at night on an eminence near Ercildoun, suffered so much from cold that they gave the camping place the name Mount Misery. There was water then in Burrumbeet, but it was intensely salty and very shallow. Next year, 1839, Lake Burrumbeet was quite dry, and it remained dry for several succeeding summers. It and the ground afforded excellent pasture after the ranker growth had been burnt off. The country thus discovered was occupied during the year 1838, and other settlers, pushing on in the same direction, in a couple of years completed the occupation of all the fine pastoral country as far westward as the Hopkins River. The brothers Learmonth, Mr. Henry Anderson, Messrs Archibald and W.C. Yuille, and Mr Waldie settled on the subsequently revealed gold-fields of Ballarat, Buninyong, Sebastopol, and their immediate vicinities. Some members of the Clyde Company, Tasmania, visited the Western district in 1838, that company giving the name of the Clyde Inn, of the old Geelong coach road. They settled upon the Moorabool and the Leigh, Mr. George Russell being the manager, Major Mercer, who gave the name to Mount Mercer, and Mr D. Fisher, were of that company. The Narmbool run, near Meredith, was taken by Mr Neville in 1839. Ross’ Creek was named from Capt. Ross, who in those early days used to perform the feat of walking in Highland costume all the way to Melbourne. But in those times travelling was a more serious matter than in these days of railroads, coaches, cabs, and other vehicles, with good roads and a generally settled country. Then there were no roads, few people, and a thick forest, encumbered about Ballarat, too, with the native hop. Mr Archibald Fisken, of Lal Lal, was the first person to drive a vehicle through the then roadless forest of Warrenheip and Bullarook. In 1846 he drove a dog-cart tandem, with Mr W. Taylor through the bush to Longerenong, on the Wimmera.

Messrs. T.L. and S.L. Learmonth, whose father was then in Hobarton, settled their homestead on what is now known as the Buninyong Gold Mining Company’s ground at Buninyong. Mr Henry Anderson, who was the earliest pioneer, in what is now known as Winter’s Flat, planted his near a delta formed by the confluence of the Woolshed Creek and the Yarrowee, Messrs Yuille subsequently taking that and all the country now known as Ballarat West and East and Sebastopol. These settlers gave the name to Yuille’s Swamp more recently called Lake Wendouree. The Bonshaw run was taken up by Mr Anderson, who gave it its name, Mr John Winter coming into possession shortly afterwards. Messrs Pettett and Francis took up the country at Dowling Forest, so named after their first overseer. Shortly after they had settled there, Mr Francis was killed by one of his own men with a shear-blade. Mr Waldie subsequently took up country north of Ballarat, and called his place Wyndholm, where he has resided ever since. Messrs Yuille had settled originally at Mount Emu, near Carngham, but finding the natives troublesome they retired to Ballarat. Mr Smyth, who with Mr Bourtire held the run, gave the name to Smythe’s Creek, as Messrs Baillie had to the creek at Carngham, their run there being afterwards transferred to Messrs Russell and Simson. Creswick Creek has its name from Henry Creswick, who settled upon a small run there. Two brothers Creswick had previously held country close to Warrenheip. Mr Andrew Scott settled his family at the foot of Mount Buninyong, where he had a snug run in which the mount, and its rich surrounding soil were included. Mrs Andrew Scott was the first lady who travelled through the district. She drove across the dry bed of Lake Burrumbeet in the year 1840. Lal Lal was taken up the same year (1840), by Messrs Blakeny and George Airey, the latter a brother of the Crimean officer so often and so flatteringly mentioned in Kinglake’s “History of the Crimean War.” In the same year, Messrs Le Vet (or Levitt) and another took up Warrenheip as a pig-growing station, but the venture failed, and some of the pigs ran wild in the forest there for years, and preyed on each other. After Messrs Le Vet and Co. had been there awhile, the run was taken up on behalf of Messrs Verner, Welsh, and Holloway, of the Gingellac run, on the Hume, by Mr Haverfield (at present the editor of the Pastoral Times), Le Vet and partner selling their improvements for about £30. Shortly after Mr Haverfield came to Warrenheip, Bullarook Forest was occupied by Mr John Peerman, for Mr Fyan Campbell. The Mr Verner mentioned above was at the time, or about then, Commissioner of the Melbourne Insolvency Court. He is now Sir William Verner, and a member in the House of Commons for Belfast. Mr Welsh was the late Mr Patricius Welsh, of Ballarat; and Mr Holloway became a gold-broker, and died at the Camp at Bendigo. In the year 1843, Mr Peter Inglis, who had a station at Ballan, took up the Warrenheip run, and shortly after that purchased the Lal Lal station, and throwing them both together, grazed on the united runs one of the largest herds in the colony. The western boundary of Mr Inglis’ Warrenheip run marched with the eastern boundary of Mr Yuille’s run, the line being struck by marked trees running from Mount Buninyong across Brown Hill to Slaty Creek. Mr Donald Stewart, now of Buninyong, was stock-rider for Mr Inglis, on the Warrenheip and Lal Lal stations. In 1839 Mr W.H. Bacchus brought cattle from Melbourne and grazed them on his run of Burrumbeetup, the centre of which run is now occupied by the Ballan pound. The run extended on the Ballarat side of the Moorabool to about midway to the Lal Lal Creek. Mr Bacchus still resides in the same locality; his present station being known as Perewur, or Peerewurr, a native name, meaning waterfall and opossums. There is a waterfall on the Moorabool there, which, for its picturesque beauty, is well worth visiting.

Buninyong was a village, or township, long before Ballarat had any existence as a settlement. The first huts were built at Buninyong in the year 1841, by sawyers, splitters, and others, Mr George Innes being then called the “King of the Splitters.” George Gab, George Coleman, and others were the pioneers in the Buninyong settlement. Gab had a wife who used to ride Amazonian fashion on a fine horse called Petrel, and both husband and wife were energetic people. Gab opened a house of accommodation for travellers on the spot where Jamieson’s hotel was afterwards built. The first store in the neighborhood was opened at the Round Water Holes, near Bonshaw, by Messrs D.S. Campbell and Woolley, of Melbourne, who almost immediately afterwards removed to a site next to Gab’s, at Buninyong, whose place they took for a kitchen. Gab then removed and built another hut opposite to the present police-court, and he opened his new hut, also as a hotel. A blacksmith named McLachlan, with a partner, opened a smithy opposite to Campbell and Woolley’s store. This was the nucleus of the then principal inland town in the colony. In the year 1844 Dr. Power settled there, and built a hut behind what was afterwards the Buninyong hotel. He was the first medical man in the locality, and for years the settlers had no other doctor nearer than Geelong. The young township became a favorite place with bullock teamsters, who were glad to build huts there where they could leave their wives and children in some degree safe from aboriginal and other marauders. In the year 1847, the Rev. Thomas Hastie, the first clergyman in the district, came to Buninyong. His house, and the church in which he performed service, were built entirely by the residents in Buninyong, both pecuniary gifts and manual labor being contributed. Then, as now, the Messrs Learmonth were among the foremost movers in the promotion of the mental and moral, as well as material welfare of the people about them. Mr Hastie, in a letter to us, says: – “Before I came in 1847, the Messrs Learmonth had made several efforts to procure the settlement of a clergyman at Buninyong, but had failed, partly from want of support, but chiefly from their inability to procure one likely to be suitable. Overtures had been made to Mr Beazely, a Congregational minister then in Tasmania, and afterwards in New South Wales, but he declined them. The Messrs Learmonth, were willing to take a minister from any denomination, and the circumstance that a Presbyterian clergyman was settled here arose from the fact that no other was available. Until after the gold discovery there was no minister in the interior, that is out of Melbourne, Geelong, Belfast, and Portland, but Mr Hamilton, of Mortlake; Mr Gow, of Campbellsfield, and myself. For many years my diocese, as it may be called, extended from Batesford, on the Barwon, to Glenlogie, in the Pyrenees, and included all the country for miles on either side, my duties taking me from home more than half my time. Before I came the Messrs Learmonth had contemplated the establishment of a cheap boarding-school for the children of shepherds and others in the bush, but for prudential reasons they deferred the matter til the settlement of a minister offered the means of supervision. Immediately after I came the project was carried out, and subscriptions were received from most of the settlers in the Western district. The school was opened in 1848 under Mr Bedwell, £10 a year being charged for board and education. The gold discovery carried away the teachers, raised the prices of everything, and Mr Hastie had to see to the school and its 60 boarders himself; but through all the difficulties the school was maintained with varying fortunes, until at length it became the present Common-school near the Presbyterian Manse, with an average attendance of some 180 children.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 8 March 1870
BIRTHS. On the 5th inst, at Ercildoun, the wife of S. Livingstone Learmonth, Esq. of a daughter.

The Geelong Advertiser (Vic.) 19 March 1870
THE BALLARAT GRAND NATIONAL EXHIBITION. Sorghum saccharatum – Prize £3 T. & J. Learmonth, Ercildoun; no other exhibit. Long red marigolds – T. & S. Learmonth second. Pumpkins – D. Fisher, Ercildoun 1st Cabbages – Prizes £1 10s T. & S. Learmonth 1st Collection of Garden Fruits – £5 T. & S. Learmonth 1st.

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 19 March 1970
THE NATIONAL GRAIN SHOW. The board having been liberal towards the fruit growers, the classes in this department ought to have been more extensively supported – the show was good, but not what a national fruit show should have been. Messrs. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, aparently keeps a confectioner; they showed not only ripe fruit, but fruit of nearly every sort preserved in different ways, and in a style that would not disgrace a trade hand.

The Ballarat Courier (Vic.) 26 March 1870
THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY’S EXHBITION. Two pounds garlic, 2nd prize S. Learmonth. Twelve onions, 1st prize S. Learmonth. Twelve varieties of rose, and six varieties of rose, (exclusive of teas). 1st prize S. T. Learmonth. Two varieties of tea rose, 2nd prize S. T. Learmonth. Six varieties of verbena, three trusses of each, 1st prize S. T. Learmonth.

The University of Ballarat Timeline. 7 April 1870. The Provisional Ballarat School of Mines Council applied to Government for the lease of the former Circuit Court House. It was approved for a 15 year period at a nominal rent. The first trustees were Sir Redmond Barry, Somerville Livingstone Learmonth and Rivett Henry Bland. (Geoffrey Serle, From Deserts The Prophets Come: The Creative Spirit in Australia 1788-1972, Melbourne, William Heinemann, 1974, p. 25.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 6 May 1870
AGRICULTURAL REPORT. Messrs. Hepburn and Leonard, in their Ballarat stock report, say that “account sales of wool sold this season in London, received by this mail, offer great inducements to buyers of good-woolled sheep, Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth’s clip from Ercildoun realizing up to 4s per lb. This should be an incentive to settlers to avail themselves of the opportunity offered annually at Skipton show to obtain pure-bred merino rams from the premier stud.”

The Empire (Sydney, NSW) 16 May 1870; The Australian Town and Country Journal (NSW) 21 May 1870
PUBLIC SALES OF COLONIAL WOOL. The quality of fine wool offered was extremely limited, and where well grown and in good condition realized extreme rates. The well-known Ercildoun brand touched the extraordinary price of 4s per lb.

The Church of England Messenger (Melbourne, Vic.) 19 May 1870
Colonial Intelligence. DIOCESE OF MELBOURNE. Our letters from the Bishop, reaching to the 7th inst., report him to have been enabled, in the good providence of God, to accomplish up to that time, all that he had laid down for himself in his programme. Excerpt – During Easter week the Bishop and Mrs. Perry visited their friends (Mr. and Mrs. S. Learmonth) at Ercildoun.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 26 May 1870
NEWS AND NOTES. Some Ballarat sportsmen had a good day’s sport on Tuesday, at Ercildoun, on the land of Mr Learmonth. After hunting sundry kangaroo-rats, they had a fine run after a stag, which with the help of grey-hounds was captured unhurt. The stag was brought to Ballarat, and will be turned loose next Saturday for the benefit of the Hunt Club. The party was most hospitably entertained by Mr Learmonth, who provided an excellent luncheon.

The Evening News Sydney (NSW) 25 June 1870
HAY PASTORAL SHOW – The Hay Pastoral Show will be held on the 22nd July next. A prize of a silver cup, of the value of L20, will be given by Messrs. Learmonth for the best two-toothed ram of Ercildoun blood, bred in New South Wales, upon the condition that no rams bought direct from Messrs. Learmonth, or bred by them, be allowed to compete. (*The Geelong Advertiser 30 August 1870 states – Messrs Walsh Brothers, of Collins-street produced the Ercildoun Cup “a very handsome piece of silver plate of their own manufacture, presented by Messrs Learmonth for competition at the Riverina Pastoral Society’s Show, held at Hay, and awarded to Messrs McGaw, Mackenna and Co., for the best exhibit of sheep of the Ercildoun breed. I hear that the ram for which the award was made was asserted by the judges to be the finest of any class ever exhibited in the Australian colonies, and that the owner has since refused almost fabulous offers for the animal.”)

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 7 July 1870
Soirees &c. THE FOUNDATION STONE of the PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, Burrumbeet, will (D.V.) be laid by S. L. LEARMONTH, Esq., of Ercildoun, on Tuesday, 19th July, at Two o’clock, p.m. SOIREE in the Evening, when Lecture will be delivered by Rev J. W. Inglis, St. John’s Ballarat.

23 July 1870. The foundation-stone of the Presbyterian church at Burrumbeet, was laid on Tuesday, 19th July, by Mr Somerville Learmonth, of Ercildoun. Owing to the unsettled state of the weather the attendance at the ceremony was not so large as it would otherwise have been. The church building committee presented Mr Learmonth with a silver trowel used on the occasion. It was made by Mr Sleep, of St. Arnaud silver, and the handle of polished lightwood, was grown in the district. The following documents were placed in a bottle in the vavity of the stone, viz.: — A statement of the steps taken for the erection of the hurch, with an account of the proceedings at the laying of the foundation-stone; the names of the architect, the contractors, and all the office-bearers of the congregation; a copy of the Ballarat Star and also of the Courier of the 19th instant; a copy of the “Presbyterian Calendar” for 1869; a copy of the last report of the “Chinese and Aboriginal Mission,” a copy of the “Christian Review of the Prebyterian Church, “ a number of coins and samples of the staple products of the district – wheat, oats, barley, rye, vetches. After singing and prayer, and the placing of the bottle in the cavity, the stone was lowered. Mr Learmonth then applied the level and mallet; after which he declared the stone well and truly laid. In the evening the ladies of the congregation spread the most sumptuous tables, and after creature comforts had been amply supplied, the Rev. J. W. Inglis gave his lecture, “An evening with old friends.” His readings from Shakespere (sic.), Macaulay, Mansie Waught, and the “Elder’s Death Bed,” were done with fine effect.

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) 4th August 1870
BALLARAT AND FISH ACCLIMATISATION. (From a Correspondent) BALLARAT, August 1st. The importance of stocking suitable waters in this district with English trout has now been fully recognized by many of our leading men, and steps are now about being taken in the matter, which, it is to be hoped, will end in our having the much desired fish in our waters at no distant date. A meeting of the principal leading inhabitants at Ballarat West has been called for this evening, when preliminary arrangements will be fully entered into, a committee appointed, and the funds necessary raised. Already great interest is manifested in the matter, and subscriptions are freely promised. The breeding ponds and ripples at the Homestead of the Messrs. Learmonth at Ercildoun, some 14 or 15 miles from Ballarat, will be placed at the disposal of the committee for depositing the ova. There is a capital stream of cold water at hand at these ponds, and the present occupant, Mr. Learmonth, has nobly promised to place all the arrangements in proper order for the reception of the ova. From Ercildoun to Lake Burrumbeet is but two miles, so that no difficulty will be experienced in the removal of the young fish, when hatched and ready, into the lake. It is not unlikely that Mr. John Buckland of the salmon commission will be invited to make a trip up this way, and report generally on matters concerning trout acclimatization. At all events we should be prepared to fully recoup Mr. B’s expenses, and he would meet with a hearty welcome. While writing on fish, I may state that some perch, forwarded some two years since by Mr. Morton Allport, to the care of a Ballarat gentleman, and which on arrival were placed in Kirk’s Dam – one of our water supply reservoirs – have increased to an extent surprising every one. The dam may now be said to be fairly alive with them, and in the coming season we may expect to see several of our streams around this district stocked with this fine fish, which seems to flourish well in all the water reserves in this Colony where they have been placed. Your Salmon Commissioners will doubtless hear from us in a few days anent (about) the trout question.

The Wagga Wagga Advertiser and Riverine Reporter (NSW) 31 August 1870
THE STATION AND FARM. THE AUSTRALIAN MERINO. If there is to be any further discussion on this subject, it will be necessary to define clearly what the Australian merino is, for the admirers of this variety, as it must be called we suppose, are a touchy race, and it is hard to avoid treading on their toes. As the merino is not indigenous, how many generations must be born in the country, free from the contamination of foreign blood, before the title of Australian may be applied? Or must sheep, to be worthy of this title, have a certain proportion of Camden blood in their veins? Will the sheep of any other flock in New South Wales be acknowledged as true Australians? And lastly, how many flocks in Victoria are to be so designated? These must be few in number in either colony, if the admission of German blood within the last twenty years, be a disqualification, and it would simplify matters materially to have them named. When the last crusade against imported sheep was commenced, the Australian merino was widely talked of without these points being settled; therefore there was much uncertainty as to the actual meaning of many writers and speakers on the subject. Had we known exactly the ground on which the Australian merino men stand, we might perhaps have avoided giving offence in the article at which Mr. Thomas Shaw, as their representative, has taken umbrage. Without venturing an opinion, we merely mentioned, as a matter of history, that 50 years ago the fleece of the merino was becoming too light, as in later years, when sheep were imported from Germany both to New South Wales and this colony. We now ask why it is that the mere mention of light fleeces acts on the champions of the Australian merino as the exhibition of a red rag does on a bull of lively temperament? It is because the Australian merino is accused unjustly of having a tendency to become almost bare on the shoulder and under part of the body, this tendency being so strong that the best breeders cannot effectually counteract it? No doubt the Ercildoun flock will be adduced as an instance to the contrary, and that has gained such a pre-eminence that it may be spoken of freely without offence or injury to the proprietors; but if that is allowed to be true Australian, how long since was the German blood weeded out of it, or what proportion does this bear to the blood of the Camden sheep, with which it was said to be first improved? There is, we believe, no tendency to lightness of fleece in it, but that may only prove the exception to the rule. It was founded on a small selection of sheep chosen in Germany by a Tasmanian sheepowner for the density as well as fineness of their fleece, for light fleeces were becoming a serious defect in Tasmania as well as in New South Wales, 40 or 50 years ago. After being in this colony, rams from various quarters were used before it was thought advisable to breed entirely from selections within itself. This course was most commendable, simply because no rams as good were to be obtained elsewhere, and the sheep had no radical defect likely to be transmitted or increased by in-breeding. Then the flock had become large, allowing a wide scope for selection, and had always, except in very extreme seasons, an abundance of pasturage with a comparatively cool climate, frost and snow being common with them in winter. All these several causes, combined with great care and attention, have led to improvement instead of deterioration, and will most probably continue to do so; but is there another flock of Australian merinos in the colony of which the same can be said? It is all very well to say that a want of feed causes the fleece to become light and the staple weak; but except on very few runs, or where these are much understocked, sheep here will be always liable to periods of semi-starvation; and how much better is the Australian merino then than the immediate descendant of German parents? One brand is specially mentioned by Mr. Shaw in his letter to prove that the very soundest and best combing wool, usually fetching the highest price, may be reduced to the value of ordinary wool by a want of feed for the sheep, but there was not greater scarcity on the station in question than on many others on the plains around. This very acknowledgement might be used as a strong argument against the Australian merino, but not being advocates on the other side, and only seeking information, we ask, does not this show that the kind of sheep in question is a very uncertain one to depend on for profit? Mr. Shaw must read in a very hasty manner, or he would not accuse us of reasoning that because Mr. Riley sent for heavy fleeced sheep to counteract the very apparent defect in his, as well as his neighbours’ flocks. The length and elasticity of the Camden wool may have been equal to that of any other wool under equal circumstances, but two pounds of it when weak, are not worth as much as three or four pounds of somewhat coarser wool when equally weak, and it was by this experience that many flock owners were led both in old times and more lately to try the introduction of fresh blood. It does not follow that because this was done the entire breed of sheep was condemned. Nor if we found it advisable to recommend such a course again should we be accused of condemning the Australian merino; but it has its weak points as well as its merits, and its admirers will have a difficult task to keep up to the highest standard of profit. How will it fare in a few years with those breeders who now confine themselves to the limits of their own flocks, refusing extraneous blood? Are their fleeces becoming lighter or heavier, or their sheep flatter in the sides or rounder in the ribs? Breeding in-and-in may answer under peculiar circumstances, as at Ercildoun, and with the Hampton Court flock, specimens from which have just arrived here, but it will scarcely answer with Australian merinos kept on the plains.

The Sydney Mail (NSW) 3 September 1870
Hay Pastoral Society’s Show. CHAMPION PRIZES. For the best colonial-bred merino ram in the yard. McGaw, McKinnon, and Co., bred by Messrs. Learmonth, of Groongal. The judges said it was the best sheep in the Riverina – nothing at Jerilderie to equal it.

THE LEARMONTH CUP. For the best two-tooth ram of Ercildoun blood, bred in New South Wales, was awarded to Messrs. McGaw, McKinnon, and Co.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 14 September 1870
COUNTRY NEWS. The Ballarat Star fears that “the floods have seriously damaged, if not destroyed, the trout ova lately deposited at Ercildoun. Mr. Learmonth writes, under date 9th September: ‘It is with great regret that I announce my fear that the trout ova have been destroyed. The flood of yesterday has caused great devastation here, and has deposited so much mud in the hatching boxes that I cannot think that the delicate eggs can survive the rough treatment to which they have been exposed.’”

The Evening News (Sydney, NSW) 16 September 1870
GREAT FLOODS IN VICTORIA. LOSS OF LIFE AND DEVASTATION OF PROPERTY. The Ballarat Star states that the natural embankment of the Cockpit Lagoon, near Ercildoun, has been burst through by the heavy floods, and the water is now being rapidly discharged by a wide opening, some forty or fifty yards wide. The water in the lagoon, before it burst, was nine or ten feet deep; being deeper than it has been known to be since the settlement of the colony.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 23 September 1870
The Stud. To stand this season at Mortchup, on Mount Emu Creek, the Clydesdale Stallion, DARLINGTON. Darlington is a dark bay, 17 hands high, has immense bone and a splendid action; bred by the Hon. Thomas Learmonth, Esq., of Ercildoun; was got by the imported Clydesdale horse Wrestler, out of Rose, by the imported Clydesdale horse Matchem, which was purchased by Mr Learmonth for £800. Darlington took first prize at the Geelong and Western District Spring Exhibitions of 1867 and 1869, both in the imported and colonial-bred classes. J.S. CAMPBELL, Proprietor.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 28 September 1871
NEWS AND NOTES. The accounts received from the Ercildoun trout hatching ponds anent the young fish recently hatched out are most satisfactory. Mr. Learmonth reports that the young trout can be seen swimming about, are strong and vigorous.

The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW) 18 October 1870
Death of Mr. King’s Ercildoun Ram. At the great sale of Ercildoun rams, on the 26th August last, the finest animal of the lot was, after some spirited competition, knocked down to Mr. King, of Berthong, for the sum of £40. Mr. King’s sheep have a large mixture of the ‘Old Grimes’ American imported merino blood in their veins, but their wool, in length of staple and lustre, does not come up to Mr. King’s idea of what it should be, and, to improve its quality in those respects, he purchased the best of the rams at the late sale here, giving the highest figure of any buyer on the ground. Unfortunately, for the spirited purchaser, the animal was never destined to fulfill the expectations that had been formed of it in the Berthong flock, for last week, owing as we understand, to its having been overfed in its pen, it was taken sick, and before any remedies could be applied to it, expired – Wagga Wagga Express 12th October.

The Warwick Examiner and Times (St. Lucia, Qld.) 29 October 1870
THE ERCILDOUN SHEEP. (To the Editor of the Examiner and Times.) SIR, – In the last issue of the Warwick Argus I see a letter from cannie old Donald, signed “Clochnabeen,” comparing the celebrated Ercildoun sheep unfavourably with those on the Downs. I have not seen the rams imported by Mr. Clark (the sheep referred to by “Clochnabeen”), but I know the Ercildoun sheep as well as I know those of old Donald’s employer, and I can assure him that for size, quantity and quality of wool and purity of breed, the sheep on his station are not to be compared with those of Mr. Learmonth. I may add that the Ercildoun sheep are remarkably healthy, and have never had catarrh. I have noticed with regret the discontinuance in the Argus of those highly interesting and instructive papers upon the History of the Feuds and Conflicts in the northern parts of Scotland and the Western Isles, from the Creation of the World till the year of God 1600. I would recommend old Donald to stick to that kind of literature, which he understands far better than he does sheep. Yours, obediently, OLD CHUM.

The Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser (Qld.) 29 October 1870
Mr. G. Clark, of Warwick, has, within the last few years, done more than most Queensland sheep-owners to improve the character of his flocks by the importation of valuable blood. There are now in the Brisbane quarantine grounds 9 rams and 39 ewes, just imported by Mr. Clark, and destined for his East Talgai station. Four of the former are from the well-known Ercildoun flocks, Victoria, and have been pronounced to be the finest specimens of Messrs. Learmonth’s merinos ever imported here. The ewes and the remainder of the rams are from the justly celebrated Kermode flocks, of Tasmania.

The Wagga Wagga Advertiser (NSW) 24 December
STATION MANAGEMENT – “A WORD TO THE WISE.” (To the Editor of the Brisbane Courier.) SIR, Having been connected with sheep-farming for a good many years, and especially in Queensland, I have been often amused with the many absurdities and amount of bunkum that one sees and hears in the regions of “Squatterdeom;” such a number of ill-used individuals it is quite pitiable to meet with. All the misfortunes, which happened to them is the fault of everything but the right one. Confound wool-brokers and wool markets, agents, banks, climate, and country; in fact, confound everything and everybody but their unfortunate selves! I think however, if we were to lift the curtain and look behind the scenes, it might do no harm, and do some good. I will not speak of rash speculation, borrowed money, and high interest; that is, you may say, a thing of the past, for which we are at present undergoing a cure, and I am not at all afraid that we shall be suffered to have a relapse; but I shall look at the manner in which station work is conducted as present. I believe that I am not far wrong in saying that there is not at the present time one station in ten in Queensland managed by its owner. They are therefore obliged, for certain reasons – such as the Laird of McNab’s – their heads being taken up with the affairs of the State, or more probably not knowing much about the matter themselves, to employ managers. These gentlemen, unfortunately, are rather migratory in their habits, often more from necessity than inclination, being here to-day and away to-morrow, as I have myself known that on several stations there has been a regular rotation of managers once a year – sometimes oftener – the proprietors in these instances thinking, I suppose, that as in cereal growing it is necessary to have a rotation of crops so in wool growing it is necessary to have a regular rotation of ideas. One gentleman fancies combing wool, speaks learnedly on the subject, and perhaps induces his employer to go in for a lot of Victorian rams; he gets his conge. Another succeeds. He pooh-poohs the first man’s ideas, and he goes in for clothing wool; another for carcass; another for imported blood, the next, perhaps, who has no ideas of his own in the matter, boxes the whole lot together, until the sheep get in such a muddle that after shearing you would not see such a set of piebald animals out of Astley’s circus – the fleece being all qualities…

I don’t at all wonder, therefore, at squatting not paying, and I have no hesitation in saying that unless a radical change takes place in this respect, squatting never will pay in Queensland; neither will the Queensland sheep breeders ever come forward shoulder to shoulder with those of New South Wales and Victoria; and, further, unless the proprietor is a thoroughly practical man himself – such a man as Messrs. Bayly, Cox, Learmonth, Shaw, Bellington, and many others – and lives on his own station, and attends to his own business, or employs some thoroughly practical man to do it for him, and sticks to this man, and does not take offence at every hasty word or mistake he makes, he will find that squatting with him, at the best, will be uphill work. Continually changing managers, and getting others with different ideas, entails more loss and expense on proprietors than they are aware of. We can see what practical experience and attention to breeding will do; and, although we cannot all expect to be Baylys and Learmonths, and get 4s. per lb. for our wool, yet with a little expense, trouble, and common sense, there is nothing to prevent us doing better than we are doing, and in time rivaling the famed Havilah and Ercildoun clips. NIL DESPERANDUM. In the North, October 16.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 3 January 1871
ERCILDOUN ON NEW YEAR’S EVE. Ercildoun, the home in Victoria of the Messrs. Learmonth, and so long known as the place where the champion merinos luxuriate in the splendid paddocks set apart for their especial use, and where so many objects of interest present themselves, was perhaps never more interesting than on New Year’s eve. The kindly feeling towards, and the earnest desire to promote the happiness of all employed on the estate by Mr and Mrs Thomas Learmonth, during the time they resided at Ercildoun, is a fact well known, and hundreds of hearts warm with grateful recollections of timely aid, judicious advice, and sympathising interest in all that affected the moral and material interests of the many that were gathered around them; and now that they are followed by the present occupants, Mr and Mrs Somerville L. Learmonth, equally kindly feelings are manifested by them and entertained towards them. Few persons passing through the station on New Year’s Eve, admiring, as they would do the beautiful seclusion of the spot, with its magnificent, poplars, gardens, lakes, and hills, would have dreamt of the livelier scenes inside. There, however, were to be seen busy hands arranging on a pretty Christmas-tree, surrounded with rocks and moss, and soldiers and fortifications with batteries and bridges, every conceivable thing to interest and please. Flags of all nations, Chinese lanterns, dolls, great and small, with every variety of toy and trinket were brought into requisition to heighten the general effect. On a side-table in the hall, where were so soon to be gathered interesting and excited spectators, was piled up a heap of articles of all sorts, useful and ornamental.

The last touch given, the superfluous cleared away punctually at six o’clock, the invited arrive, and as men, women, and children file past the magic spot, a general thrill of admiration and wonder was seen. Mr Learmonth announced that the business of the occasion would be preceded by a grateful recognition of the Divine goodness, and after expressing best wishes for the welfare of those assembled, concluded by wishing them a happy new year. The doxology having been sung, the work of distribution commenced. Tickets with corresponding numbers on the articles which adorned the tree were distributed, and soon the merry laugh and cheer arose as neglected bachelors became the fortunate recipients of Lilliputian babies’ little wool socks, &c, and mothers had handed to them bon-bons and bags of lollies, while supple-jacks and jumping Chinamen greatly excited the numerous children. At length, some two hundred articles having been thus disposed of commenced the distribution of dolls, beautifully dressed, which were bestowed by Mrs Learmonth’s own hand on the larger girls. Then came the turn of the married women, who receive their annual gift – dress pieces selected with care and regard to the tastes and circumstances of the recipients, and where it was thought to be preferred, other things equally valuable and useful were given. In rapid succession followed the men and the children, until to the number of 90, everyone had received some token of goodwill. The men pocketed their knives, cases of pencils, pipes, powder-flasks, and one actually carried off his purse, to be won on some future occasion. An adjournment to the laundry, and the game of snapdragon commenced, greatly to the delight of the boys, and soon the whole of those present were fully occupied in partaking of the good things provided in the servants’ hall. Here were roast goose, roast and boiled beef, rabbit pies, ham, and with pies and tarts of every hue, with fruit and salad, tea, and ginger beer, to suit the tastes of all; the whole being got up in the best style, and partaken of with the most evident satisfaction, not a hitch or jarring string during the whole, and every one felt that a great treat had been generously provided by Mr and Mrs Learmonth. The occasion will long be looked back upon as one of the happiest known at Ercildoun. During the evening a short address was delivered, and a resolution moved and seconded expressive of the gratitude and regard of those present to their kind employers and generous friends, and carried most enthusiastically. At twelve o’clock a number of those on the estate gathered in the courtyard to sing hymns of praise to the God, who had been so kind to them during the past, and in whose presence thus employed they welcomed what all most earnestly wish may be to the employers and employed “a Happy New Year.” – Communicated.

The Ballarat Star (Vic) 8 May 1871
Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society. Excerpt – “Dynamometer. In accordance with the special request forwarded by letter from your society to Thomas Livingstone Learmonth, Esq., Park-hall, Linlithgowshire, Scotland, that he would purchase a first class dynamometer for the use of your society, that gentleman, after the most cautious and careful enquiries, most mature consideration on his own part, and by the scientific advice of Professor Rankine, consulting engineer to the Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland, ordered one of Messrs Eastons, Amos, and Anderson’s self-registering dynamometers, which was forwarded from the establishment of that company in London direct to your society. This most ingeniously and beautifully constructed machine was received by your committee in October last. The prime cost of the dynamometer is £86, but with various additional charges incurred in connection with its transit to this colony, and custom-house charges at Melbourne, it cost the society £103 10s 2d. It would be premature on the part of your committee to state with confidence in this report the actual benefits which your society may derive in future from the practical working of this machine. Time and numerous tests will reveal its utility to the machinist and to the agriculturist.

The Wagga Wagga Advertiser and Riverine Reporter (NSW) 24 May 1871
BALLARAT. HEPBURN AND LEONARD’S REPORT. The stock yarded were 526 cattle and 8413 sheep. FAT SHEEP. The Ercildoun merinos (Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth’s) as usual topped the market, selling from 12s 6d to 13s.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 1 April 1871
BALLARAT (From our own correspondent.) At a meeting of the Ballarat Acclimatisation Society, held last night, it was decided to apply to the Tasmanian Salmon commissioners for 2,000 trout ova, and to request the co-operation of Mr. S. Learmonth in preparing breeding ponds at Ercildoun.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 21 April 1871
MISCELLANEOUS. The committee of the Ballarat Fish Acclimatisation Society met on Thursday, 30th March, at Craig’s hotel, Dr. King in the chair. It was resolved that the secretary, communicate with the Tasmanian Salmon Commissioners, with a view to obtaining 2000 trout ova on the usual conditions. With reference to the perch fishery, it was resolved that a committee, to consist of the chairman (Dr Whitecombe), and Messrs H. D. Cane, M. Seal, F. M. Claxton, and J. K. Baird be appointed to draw up rules for the better regulation of the fishing in the Forest dams. The secretary reported that the financial position of the society was good, and that a number of gentlemen had promised their support. The chairman was deputed to wait on Mr Somerville Learmonth, as to the construction of the necessary breeding boxes at Ercildoun.

The Wagga Wagga Advertiser and Riverine Reporter (NSW) 3 May 1871
BALLARAT. Hepburn and Leonard’s Report. FAT SHEEP – A full supply to hand, quality of every description, from very inferior stores to the best sheep we have seen in this market. A draft of 400 pure merinos, from Ercildoune (Messrs. T. S. Learmonth’s), were much admired for weight, quality, and evenness: in fact, we have never seen them equalled here. The trade showed their appreciation, the average being the highest of the season.

The Adelaide Observer (SA) 1 July 1871
AT SKIPTON SHOW. MESSRS. LEARMONTH’S RAMS. HEPBURN & LEONARD will sell by auction, at Skipton, on the day of the show (September 21) – Their ANNUAL DRAFT of PURE AUSTRALIAN MERINO RAMS, from the Ercildoun Paddocks, numbering about 800 Two and Four Tooths.

The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW) 18 July 1871; Leader (Melbourne) 18 July 1871 HAY. (Herald) – A grand ball took place last night at the Caledonian Hotel – The Pastoral Show took place to-day; there was a large attendance. The Learmonth Cup, valued at £20, was won by McGaw and Co., of Burrabogie, for the best ram, Ercildoun breed; champion ewe, Rutherford and Co., Illilawa, silver cup, value £5; champion ram, silver cup £5, C. Simpson of Mungadal; best three rams, Rutherford and Co., of Illilawa; best three ewes, Rutherford and Co., of Illilawa; best three two-toothed rams, Colin Simpson, of Munngadal; best three two-toothed ewes, McGaw and Co., Burrabogie; best short-horn bull, Learmonth, Groongal, £5; best short-horn cow, Learmonth, Groongal, £3; best hack, Mr. Riley; best buggy pair, Mr. Cox; best thoroughbred entire, H. Lomax; best draught entire, Mr. Gormley.

The Leader (Melbourne, Vic.) 22 July 1871
HAY PASTORAL SHOW. CATTLE – Class 1, shorthorn bull: 1st prize, T. and S. Learmonth. Class 2, shorthorn cow: 1st Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth. A silver prize cup, of the value of £20, for the best ram of Ercildoun blood bred in New South Wales, was won by Messrs. McGaw and Co. – Pastoral Times.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 12 August 1871
FISH ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY. Excerpts – The annual meeting of this society was held on Friday evening, at Cherry’s Victoria hotel, Dr King in the chair. ..….It was stated that by the kindness of Mr Learmonth some of the ova would be deposited in the creek at Ercildoun, and Mr Matthew Seal and Dr Whitcombe also undertook to prepare places for other ova in their own premises.

The Ballarat Courier (Vic.) 12 August 1871
BALLARAT FISH ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY. Annual Report. Excerpt – “To the Members of the Ballarat Fish Acclimatisation Society. Gentlemen, Your committee beg to lay before you the following report of the proceedings of your society during the past year. On the 22nd of August, 1870, 1000 brown and salmon trout ova were placed in the hatching-boxes at Ercildoun, and a number of young fish had left eggs and were in a healthy condition, when the floods of September swept over the boxes and destroyed the fish. Thus the season’s work was lost. One fact, however, has been proved – that the waters of Ercildoun are well fitted for hatching the ova. Your committee have made arrangements to receive on or about the 25th of this present month a second supply of ova from Tasmania. The largest portion of this will be forwarded to the breeding-boxes at Ercildoun, where, thanks to the untiring exertions of Mr Somerville Learmonth, arrangements are being comleted for the reception of the ova, and every precaution has been taken to secure the boxes from damage from future floods. Arrangements have been made with two or three gentlemen to hatch out the remainder of the ova ; thus the hatching risk will be distributed and lessened. Your committee, aware of the importance of stocking every available river, lake, creek, and waterhole in the district with fish, are now taking such steps as will increase the society’s usefulness, in stocking the district waters with perch and other fish…… “

The Hamilton Spectator (Vic.) 12 August 1871
AT SKIPTON SHOW. MESSRS. LEARMONTH’S RAMS. Hepburn and Leonard will Sell by Auction, at SKIPTON, on their DAY of the SHOW, 21st September. The Annual Draught of Pure Australian Merino Rams. From the Ercildoun paddocks, numbering about 800, 2 and 4 tooth. Arrangements have been made for the attendance of Sheep Inspectors at the Sale, so that purchasers from proclaimed Clean Districts can obtain permits to travel with them without delay.

The Argus (Melbourne) 8 September 1871
The Ballarat Star of Wednesday says “the trout ova placed in the breeding-ponds in Ballarat commenced to hatch-out yesterday. The young fish are strong and healthy. At present the loss of ova has been almost nil. No word has at yet been received from the Ercildoun ponds, but probably some news will be received during the day, it being possible that the ova will hatch-out more quickly there, as the water is one or two degrees warmer than in Ballarat.”

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 23 August 1871
NEWS AND NOTES. Excerpt – The hatching boxes at Ercildoun, for the reception of the trout ova to come per the Southern Cross, steamer, from Hobart Town, on Friday next, are all but completed. The gravel to be placed therein was forwarded from Ballarat yesterday. The steamer is expected to arrive in Melbourne on Friday morning, so that the ova will reach Ballarat, at the latest, by the night train. The box containing the ova will be opened in Ballarat, and a portion of the eggs distributed in the boxes ready for their reception, which have been erected under the superintendence of two of the members of the committee of the Ballarat Fish Acclimatisation Society in the city.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 21 September 1871
WESTERN DISTRICT PASTORAL SHOW. (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. FROM OUR OWN REPORTER SKIPTON, VIA LINTON, WEDNESDAY.) The weather this morning was finer than it is often seen in this bleak-looking hamlet. The hotels have all been filled up for some days, and stabling is at a premium. Although the show of the Western District Pastoral and Agricultural Society does not take place until to-morrow, a large number of visitors have arrived, and it is evident that the interest taken in this show and sale of stock is on the increase. There is a large number of merino rams catalogued for sale, amounting in all to 4,342, the greater portion being from the following celebrated stud flocks: – Messrs T. and S. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, sent 678 rams, mostly two-tooth; Mr. J. Currie has 900, all two-tooth; Mr. Wm. Cumming has 800. The following gentlemen also sent large numbers: – Messrs. John Cumming, Alex Armstrong, Thomas Shaw, E. G. Greeves, Thomas F. Cumming, and J. Dowling. The judges have been busy all day awarding the prizes, and until they have concluded their labours the public are not expected to examine the stock. The quality of the young stock is said to be fully up to the average, if indeed it is not superior to that of previous years. As yet only the prize sheep have been brought into the yards, the lots for sale being grazed during the day in the neighbourhood of the village.

The following are the awards of the judges of sheep : –
Class I. Two Merino Rams, of any age – First prize £5, T. and S. Learmonth; second prize £4, J. L. Currie; third prize £2, John Cumming; fourth prize £1, George Thompson; honorary certificate, Thomas Dowling. Eighteen entries.
Class II. Two Merino Ewes of any age – First prize £5, T. and S. Learmonth; second prize £4, Thomas Dowling; third prize £2, Phillip Russell; fourth prize £1, Thomas Shaw; honorary certificate, Alexander Anderson commended, Messrs. Currie and W. Cumming. Twenty-one exhibits.
Class III. Two Two-toothed Merino Rams – First prize £5, T. and S. Learmonth; second prize £4 Thomas Dowling; third prize £2 J. L. Currie; fourth prize £1, John Cumming; honorary certificate, W. Cumming. Twenty-one entries.
Class IV. Two Two-toothed Merino Ewes – First prize £4 T. and S. Learmonth; second prize £3 J. L. Currie; third prize £2, Phillip Russell; fourth prize £1; John Dowling; honorary certificate, E. G. Greeves; commended, Thos. Shaw, A. Buchanan, A. Anderson, J. Cumming, and G. Cumming. Twenty-seven exhibits.
Class V. Best Merino Ram in the Yard – Prize £5, J. L. Currie, T. and S. Learmonth noted as the two next best.
Class VI. Best Merino Ewe in the Yard – Prize £5, T. and S. Learmonth, and noted as next best, with Thomas Dowling third.
Class XIII. Five Merino Wethers, as fat sheep – Prize £3, T. and S. Learmonth. Two other exhibits.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 23 September 1871
THE WESTERN DISTRICT PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY’S SHOW. Excerpts – Champion ewe – “The poor creature paid the penalty of greatness, for she was pulled about in a very unfeeling manner, and several persons who ought to have known better tore off samples of wool in such a rough manner that they brought away the skin with it, and on Thursday it was found necessary to place a guard over both the champion ram and ewe.” Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth have steadily advanced in quality, but the greatest improvement is noticed in the sheep shown by Mr. J. L. Currie. Some few years ago these sheep began to exhibit the very objectionable quality of openness in the fleece, particularly along the back, but by judicious management this fault has been entirely overcome, and now the rams from Mr. Currie’s flock show a density of wool that is unequalled in Victoria. As usual there was not a great competition for the prize for fat merino wethers. The victory was adjudged to Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth.

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) 18 October 1871
TROUT IN VICTORIA. The most gratifying accounts anent the trout fry were received in Ballarat from the Ercildoun ponds on Monday. Mr. Learmonth’s arrangements for the hatching-out of the ova, and subsequent treatment of the young fish, proved to have been most perfect, as is gathered from the fact that, but two dead ova have been seen. The young fish which began to hatch out on the 25th of last month, may now be seen in hundreds in the ripple boxes, and have already shown the vivacity of their elder brethren by indulging in all sorts of lively antics. One day the fish were seen rising to the surface of the water and lashing their tails in the liveliest manner. Mr. Learmonth is having a large pond constructed, into which the young trout will in a short time be drafted. So far, the acclimatization of these fine fish has been an undoubted success.

The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW) 26 October 1871
ENGLISH RACERS IN VICTORIA. The celebrated racehorse Tim Whiffler – he of the English and original cognomen, arrived yesterday on the ship Aviemore from London. He is in splendid order and condition, and along with him are three youngsters with racing blood in their veins, and all pictures of health. They were selected at home by the late Mr. John Moffatt, of Hopkins Hill, for his stud at Chatsworth. In the same vessel are also two magnificent shorthorn bulls, imported by the Messrs. Learmonth, of Ercildoun. All of the animals have been carefully housed, and the utmost attention has evidently been bestowed on them during the voyage to Melbourne – Argus Oct 18, 1871.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 20 November 1871
Our Learmonth correspondent writes: – “The following has been handed to me for publication – Weatherboard Hill, 14th November, 1871 – A deputation, consisting of Messrs. R. Humphreys, J. Stewart, J. Forsyth, and T. Creelman, waited upon Mr Learmonth, at Ercildoun House, to return to that gentleman the sincere thanks of the inhabitants of this district for his great kindness in sending his missionary servant amongst them. Mr Learmonth kindly replied, and spoke in high terms of Mr Mason, as a Christian teacher, feeling confident that he would do all the good, that laid in his power. The deputation then proceeded to Mr Mason’s house, and presented him with a token of esteem from the inhabitants of the district, and in acknowledgement of his Christian labors amongst them. Mr Mason, in returning thanks, spoke very feelingly of the kind manner in which he had been treated, and said that it far exceeded his expectations. His only reflection was that more good was not accomplished, his desire being to win souls to Christ by showing them the way of salvation. After engaging in prayer and praise, those present took a retrospective view extending over a period of ten years, which showed that a large amount of good, both temporal and spiritual, had been done in the district through the instrumentality of the Learmonth family, a hope being expressed that those families holding a similar position in the colonies would follow its good example. The deputation then separated, rejoicing over their kind reception.”

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 15 December 1871
COUNTRY NEWS. Excerpt – The young trout at the Ercildoun ponds are thriving well, and are growing rapidly. Fifty more of the young fish have been turned out by Mr. Somerville Learmonth into a large reservoir, where every facility for spawning and hatching exists. The Ballarat Mail says that the Acclimatisation Society expects to procure from Ercildoun a large quantity of ova next season, when steps will be taken to distribute it throughout the whole district.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 28 December 1871
BIRTHS. LEARMONTH. On the 25th inst., at Ercildoun, Mrs. A. J. Livingstone Learmonth of a son.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 29 December 1871
“Mr. Anthony Trollope, accompanied by Mrs. Trollope, arrived,” says the Courier of Thursday, “at Ballarat yesterday by the afternoon train, and are at present stopping at Craig’s Hotel. Mr. Robert Lewis, mayor of Ballarat, escorted the eminent novelist on a tour of inspection through Ballarat East, and showed him all the lions of that quarter. To-day Mr. Trollope intends visiting the various charitable institutions of Ballarat, and will, doubtless, descend one or other of the more important mining claims. Tomorrow he is to visit Mr. Learmonth, at Ercildoun.”

The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 3 February 1872
A RAILWAY TO THE GULF. TO THE EDITOR OF THE BRISBANE COURIER. SIR, – “Andrew Robertson’s” letter of the 24th January on this subject ends by hoping that some one else with greater influence will come forward and lay the subject bare with greater pith and plainness. I make no pretensions to write with greater influence or with greater pith; but as I believe it possible to get a railway to the Gulf and make it pay, I shall give my idea to help to make it plainer how it could be made to pay. In the first place, I would not at all do as Mr. Lilley proposes – throw the whole of the colony open for selection. That would be the ruin of the colony. But let the Government introduce a Loan Bill for money to supply the whole of the colony with permanent water, by artesian wells and dams, for which there are plenty of natural reservoirs with soil retentive and would not require great damming. Let the Government cut up all the squatting stations in the colony into runs of 50,000 acres each of good grazing land, and no man be allowed to have more than one run; large agricultural area to be reserved here and there all over the colony of the best land, and to be thrown open for selection whenever required. That done, we would have plenty of men of capital and enterprise from home and the other colonies to take up the new runs. The number of sheep and cattle would increase, and also improve in quality. Squatters, as a rule, are not wealthy. There may be a few on the Darling Downs and elsewhere, but not very many; and one of the great causes of their want of success I believe to be – their holdings are too large, and not permanently watered. There is better land, and a much larger quantity of it to the westward of Roma – say Mount Abundance, Bundango, Burena, Warrego, Nieve, Ward, Barcoo, Thomson – all the way to the Gulf, than any on the Darling Downs. I shall now give one or two instances why I believe in smaller holdings being better and more profitable than those very large ones. Mr. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, Victoria, when holding large stations in Buninyong, Burrumbeet, Lake Learmonth, and other stations, was not considered a wealthy man. And now, with a portion only of one of those runs and hundreds of well-to-do farmers on the other portion, see what he has done towards the improvement of the merino sheep, the management of the same, and the number kept on a small area, and to what a nicety he can calculate beforehand to what his annual profits will amount. Another instance, where a friend came to Queensland in 1861 with £8,000 cash; bought sheep at an average of 15s. per head; secured four hundred square miles of country; increased his flocks to over 32,000 sheep, besides cattle and horses. Three years ago he had to give all up, and never sold a sheep in the colony. If he had been restricted to fifty thousand acres of land he would be obliged to sell, consequently would cull his flocks, lessen his liabilities, and improve his sheep at the same time, and be a thriving squatter now instead of having lost all. We should be thankful that Mr. Macalister did not get the making of the railways to the Gulf, at the cost he was making to the country. They can be made at fewer hundreds per mile than they cost thousands under his management, and then they will pay.
Yours, &c., JAMES McANDREW.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 8 February 1872
BALLARAT – MESRS. HEPBURN and LEONARD report: The stock yarded were, 14,460 sheep, 1,317 lambs. Fat sheep – A similar supply to previous week in point of number; quality of all descriptions from inferior to prime; best being draft of merino ewes from Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth’s Ercildoun, which were greatly admired for weight and quality, and topped the market at an average of 9s 10d. Our sales were 400 ewes for Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, Ercildoun, at 9s. 10d.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 14 February 1872
Advertisement. WANTED, by a married man, lately arrived from England, a SITUATION as outdoor SERVANT. He can take charge of a horse, milk a cow, and attend to a small garden. James Nye, Ercildoun, Ballarat. For testimonials apply to Mr. Livingstone Learmonth of Ercildoun.

The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 23 March 1872
THOSE who would like to see the pure and unadulterated Australian acclimatized merino will enjoy a visit to the quarantine grounds, at South Brisbane, where twelve valuable rams from the Ercildoun stud are now “doing their time” before going into the Jimbour flocks.

The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW) 4 May 1872
WOOL. In class 237, for washed combing wool, Messrs. Livingstone-Learmonth, of Ercildoun, Victoria, carried the day, well earning the highest honours. The second place was occupied by Dr. Traill. Both were excellent exhibits, but the accuracy of the awards cannot be doubted. The New Zealand and Australian Land Company exhibited splendid specimens of wool of the Leicester type; but as the judges were unable to institute comparison with Australian merino wools, they, in consideration of the excellence of the New Zealand exhibits, recommended them for special first and second prizes.

The Leader (Melbourne, Vic.) 30 March 1872
Ballarat Agricultural Society’s Show. Excerpts – In the Best Variety of Green Fodder Section, Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth taking second with lucerne, 3 ft. high, being the third cutting this season from ground sown down fourteen years ago, and firsts prize for the heaviest, but certainly not the best lot of carrots. The same gentlemen took first place for water melons….

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 7 May 1872
THE ERCILDOUN ANNUAL PICNIC. It has been for many years past the practice of the Messrs Learmonth, of Ercildoun, to give an entertainment taking the form of a picnic to those who are or have been in their employ, together with the tenants on the estate, and those who, formerly occupying that position, have now become the owners of the land they occupy. These occasions have been usually very interesting as displaying on the one hand the liberality and kindly feeling of the family living at Ercildoun, and on the other, of manifesting the esteem and confidence of the many who on these occasions have been present to partake of their friends’ hospitality, and to enjoy the sources of pleasure provided for them. Usually these reunions have taken place earlier in the season, when the weather could be more depended upon, but for reasons arising out of the change of members of the family residing on the estate, it was necessarily deferred until 1st May this year. Many things combined to make the gathering at this time one of more than ordinary interest. For the first time Mr Andrew Learmonth, with his wife, having but recently returned from their wedding tour in Europe, were living at the station, and invitations on an unusually large scale were sent out, and about 250 were expected to attend. Besides, it was the 1st of May, and it was aparently by common consent anticipated that, according to old English custom, that day would be distinguished by Jack-in-the-Green, and the memorable May-pole. Sports of various kinds were also on the card for the occasion, and while many staid men and matronly women were sure to come, numbers constantly increasing of young men and maidens were eagerly anticipating the events of the day. Every preparation was made for the comfort of those expected, and by ten o’clock the numerous buggies, springcarts, drays, and saddle horses gave evidence of what was soon to be a fact. While the forces were rallying, the butler, Mr Harris, with the assistance of a numerous staff, were arranging in a beautiful spot in the home paddock the creature comforts so soon to be required. On tarpaulins spread on the grass under the shelter of some large lightwood trees were to be seen an abundance and variety of good things calculated to make every one feel hungry. There were rounds of spiced beef, lamb, round of veal, roast suckling pigs, geese, hams, meat pies of every description, with tarts of all sorts and sizes, plum puddings, plenty of wholesome ginger-beer, with all other necessaries. In the distance was the May-pole dressed up in orthodox style with wreaths of evergreens and flowers, and surmounted by a bunch of yellow chrysanthemums in the absence of the customary cowslip. At a little distance was a real Aunt Sall, waiting for some one to have a shy at her, while hurdles here and there showed that running of some sort was to come. By eleven o’clock all was ready for a start, and at a given signal the procession formed and headed by the king and queen of the May, followed by Jack-in-the-Green and accompanied by about 150 persons, proceeded to pay their respects to the Learmonth family. First came a number of the children each carrying a flag, and then three abreast the rest joined in. On arriving at the front door there was a halt, and an address by the Queen of the May and the usual salaam, which was gracefully responded to by the family and all proceeded to the paddock. Here, bush fires to keep those warm who were not disposed for physical exercise blazed their welcome, and all went “merry as a marriage bell.” There was first a hurdle race for men, with a prize and than came the dinner. There could not have been less than 250 who partook of refreshments at this time. This over, more sport followed: there were 300 yards races, 200 yards, and 150 yards for the man, with races in sacks for men and boys. The violin having arrived, there was soon dancing by those who were disposed that way, while the children were gathered in another place, girls with girls, and boys with boys, from very little ones up to 16, contending by running suitable distances for the numerous prizes offered to them; while others were pelting away at Aunty Sally or engaging in ways and means peculiar to themselves to extract all the pleasure they could from the occasion. During the afternoon, grapes, pears, apples, and walnuts were distributed, and every one seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. Mr and Mrs Learmonth were present during a considerable portion of the day, and by the evident pleasure they took in seeing every one made comfortable, greatly added to the pleasure of the occasion. At four o’clock came the tea, for which all were ready, and again the tarpaulins showed that all were welcome. In addition to remnants of meats and tarts from dinner, there was an abundance of bread and butter, plum and plain cakes, gingerbread, tartlets, and other things, with plenty of tea and coffee; and now over 366 persons partook of the cup, and showed they needed nothing stronger to make them cheerful. A race for a pig was the next item, and created no small degree of fun. In consequence of the number chasing him the poor animal had but a short run, and was bagged by the blacksmith and carried off in triumph. Rain having set in, small showers of which had been falling at intervals during the day, the persons present again formed in procession and proceeded to the house with music playing and flags flying. The whole company reached the front, and having promenaded round the lawn, drew up at the front door for the little speech making which usually takes place on the occasion. Mr. Read, farmer, Weatherboard, and Mr Mitchell, farmer, Windermere, moved the seconded a vote of thanks to Mr and Mrs Andrew Learmonth for the manifestation of the kindness which had prompted the liberality shown on the occasion, coupling with them Mr and Mrs Thomas Learmonth and Mr and Mrs Somerville Learmonth, from whom on former occasions they had received similar acts of good will. Mr Learmonth acknowledged in a brief speech the resolution which had been so enthusiastically carried, by saying that it afforded him and Mrs Learmonth very great pleasure to meet their friends in this way, and said that when his brothers knew who and how many were present, they would share the gratification they felt and rejoice to know they had so many friends in the district. He expressed his regret that his brothers were not present to share the pleasure he felt in meeting them, and also that the weather during the day had not been as fine as could have been wished – which last he could not help. After an exchange of farewells, the company broke up. In the evening all the married women and the elder daughters of those residing on the station received little prizes, and also the servants. This over, dancing was resumed in the servants’ hall and kept up till ten o’clock, when the day’s proceedings were brought to a close, and in good spirits each wended his way home. Thus was spent a day at Ercildoun, which will long be remembered as one in which everything kindness could prompt had been provided and partaken of with a reciprocation of kind feelings and good wishes, which must always help to make intercourse pleasant and to promote those feelings which ought more generally to obtain among the different classes of the community.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 10 May 1872
A detailed report on The Egerton Bank Robbery.

The Wagga Wagga Advertiser and Riverine Reporter (NSW) 19 June 1872
PASTORAL MEMS. We draw attention to a valuable lot of 250 rams, advertised for sale by Mr. W H. Graves, of Deniliquin, at the Groongal station. The rams are all of Ercildoun blood, and have been used by Messrs. Learmonth with their own flocks.

The Herald (Fremantle, WA) 29 June 1872
INTER-COLONIAL WOOL EXHIBITION. The first prize for the merino went to Ercildoun for a capital lot of 12 ewes’ fleeces; and Dr. Traill, the only other competitor, showed the same lot again as he had in the Mudgee and Merriwa district prize. It was just a preponderance of colour and length of staple, against an equality in other points, that took the prize to Ercildoun.

The Leicester wools competing in this class from New Zealand were exceedingly fine, and admitted by the judges to be the best colonial Leicester wool they had seen. Its stoutness, brilliancy, and length, were its greatest excellences, and its quality very high. Now that the demand for Leicester sheep is above the supply, there should be a drain upon the resources of the Dunedin flocks for young stock.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 25 July 1872
BALLARAT CIRCUIT COURT. CRIMINAL SITTINGS. (Before his Honour Sir Redmond Barry and a Jury.) Mr Adamson prosecuted for the Crown. The prisoners Plunkett and Stapleton, tried for and convicted of burglary after our report closed yesterday, were last night sentenced, the former to ten and the latter to nine years’ hard labour on the roads.

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) 27 July 1872
VICTORIA. The Ballarat Post publishes some satisfactory intelligence respecting the trout hatched out at Ercildoun: – “A few days since Mr. Somerville L. Learmonth had a small pond situated just below the hatching-boxes, cleaned out for the purpose of destroying the weeds that had accumulated therein. It was necessary to pump out the water, and as it was known that a few trout had escaped just after being hatched, and were in this pond, the workmen employed in pumping were instructed to be cautious, and to keep a good look-out for any young fish that might be still alive. When nearing the bottom of the pond a considerable agitation was observed in the water, and after a little time about one dozen trout were caught in a small net. Some of the fish were, Mr. Learmonth states, between eight and nine inches in length, and at least three inches in girth round the shoulders. Others were smaller, the smallest being from five to six inches long, and thick in proportion. All were as lively as possible, and in prime condition. It is needless to say Mr. Learmonth was greatly delighted at the success he had done so much to bring about, and that after due examination the fish were again consigned to better waters on the Ercildoun estate. It seems that the Ballarat Fish Acclimatisation Society has placed two varieties of trout in the waters of the district, and of this fact we believe the society were unaware until very lately. It now appears that in executing the order for 1,000 trout ova in August last, the Tasmania salmon commissioners forwarded to Ballarat 800 ova of what Scotch fishermen term the burn trout, and 200 of the larger brown trout. The former average about 1lb. in weight, and are a most game as well as a delicious table fish, and the latter run as high as seven, eight, or even ten pounds in weight. These two varieties were distinctly observed in the young fish caught at Ercildoun, the difference in size, shape, and colour being very perceptible. It is, therefore, seen that the successful acclimatization of trout in the district waters of Ballarat is now a matter beyond all doubt. It is as well to mention that pond from where these fish were taken possessed but little food suitable for the trout, and the larger pond, or rather lake, in which the mass of the fish were placed when fit to be turned out is full of food. Mr. Learmonth, then, is not far out when he states his belief that the fish caught, big as they were for their age, are small in comparison to those of their better-fed brethren in the other waters.”

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 31 August 1872
BIRTHS. LEARMONTH – On the 28th August, at Ercildoun, the wife of S. Livingstone Learmonth, Esq., of a son.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 31 August 1872
ANGLING. UP-COUNTRY FISH PRATTLE. The progress made in fish culture in the Ballarat district up to 12 months ago has, I believe, been duly recorded in The Australasian…

The TOWN AND COUNTRY JOURNAL, 31 August 1872, The Empire (NSW) 2 September 1872
A Tour To The South. (by Our Special Correspondent.) THE MURRUMBIDGEE continued………Thanking Mr. Munro for his hospitality and assistance; I proceed on my journey “down the river.” A canter over the plains for six miles brought me into some splendid salt-bush country, and then I found myself at Bringagee, the beginning of the leviathan station of Groongal, the property of Mr. Thomas Learmonth, of Ercildoun. The name of Mr. Thomas Learmonth of Ercildoun, is a household word among the sheep-farmers and squatters of Victoria and Riverina. Mr. Learmonth is the Bayly of Victoria, and divides the honours in Riverina with the latter gentleman. The Riverina station is an immense one, and is carried on in conjunction with Ercildoun by Mr. Learmonth. The flocks and herds occupy different parts of the run. That part higher up the Murrumbidgee is called Bringagee, and is a cattle station. Sheep are run on the lower parts of the river, and back blocks. The top, or cattle station, Bringagee, is under the charge of Mr. John Buckley. The paddocks, enclosed by first-class post and rail fences, contain splendid salt bush, some of the best that I have seen on the river. The cattle are a fine breed – all Durhams from imported stock, and among their ancestors were Royal Charley, Sir Robert, Clan Campbell, and other well-known names. The number on the run varies from 2000 to 6000 head; about 3000 head are now on Bringagee.

Groongal head station is quite a little township. Besides excellent superintendent’s residence, it has overseers and storekeeper’s quarters, men’s residence, clergyman’s house, windmill, and other buildings. The superintendent of Groongal is Mr. D. McLarty; the overseer, Mr. Hardy; the storekeeper, Mr. Henderson. The superintendent’s residence is a spacious building or buildings; and to the right is the windmill, which draws water from the river to the houses and excellent garden and orchard. “The working men’s residence” is a model one. It is the best in Riverina. It is built of red gum with galvanized iron roof. It is raised off the ground on blocks. The dining room is 25 x 18 feet, and there are 7 bedrooms, two beds in each, fitted up with the necessary conveniences. The kitchen in connection with it, is also a model one, having stoves and other cooking apparatus, and a pantry adjoining. The cost of this building was £350. A missionary is kept by Mr. Learmonth on the station. He also maintains a school. The station is on the river bank; and a capital punt is kept on the river for the use of the station. The woolshed, about a mile from the home station, is a huge one, 200 feet long and 60 feet wide. Two wool presses are used; one of these is Wilding’s patent travelling box. There is dumping machinery here; and it is the only shed on the river that I have visited where dumping is done. Dumping may properly be defined as packing bales of wool for exportation. Each bale is placed under powerful pressing machinery, and when under it, three or four bands are fastened on for the purpose of keeping the bale compressed, as seen in the accompanying engraving. As vessels to England take cargo per measurement, a considerable saving is effected by means of these presses. One bale of ordinary wool occupies about the same space as three when dumped. The process of dumping is chiefly done on the wharfs, and in the wool warehouses of Sydney and Melbourne. Groongal is one of the few stations in the colony that dumps its own wool. The shearers’ and ‘rouse-about’ men’s, and overseers’ huts, are near the shed. During the shearing season 140 men are employed viz: fifty-two shearers; forty men at the wash; and forty “rouse-about” men, &c. This is independent of the hands regularly employed.

Groongal station has an area of 400,000 acres (625 square miles), and a frontage of twenty miles to the Murrumbidgee. The run is subdivided into twelve large paddocks, varying from six to ten square miles; and seven smaller paddocks, over 200 square miles of fencing altogether. Capacious dams and tanks are on the back parts of the run for watering purposes. One tank in particular, having an excavation of 8000 yards. Through these immense improvements the station now carries from 120,000 to 140,000 sheep, and from 3000 to 6000 head of cattle.

The South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA) 2 September 1872
At the Apsley show held in South Australia, the best ram was ‘Old Learmonth’ – a magnificent sheep of, as his name imparts, the Ercildoun breed, combining the peculiar qualities for which that flock has become world famous. The pen in which this sheep was enclosed became the chief centre of attraction. Throughout the day groups might be seen making critical examinations of his fleece, and now and then a more than usually enthusiastic admirer would deprive ‘Old Learmonth’ of a portion of his woolly covering, and transfer the coveted prize forthwith to his pocketbook.

The Geelong Advertiser (Vic.) 3 September 1872
THE BOTANICAL GARDENS. CURATOR’S REPORT.
(John Raddenberry) Acting upon the advice and with the consent of the Trustees, I have visited during the month Ballarat and Melbourne, and obtained a large number of valuable plants and cuttings. From Mr Learmonth, of Ercildoun, cuttings of planes (trees) and variegated ivy.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 7 October 1872 page 2
Advertisement. MONDAY, 4th NOVEMBER RIVERINA STATION for sale. 18,000 SHEEP. 1000 CATTLE. And all Improvements and Station Plant. KING and CUNNINGHAM have received instructions to OFFER for sale by PUBLIC AUCTION, at Menzies’ Hotel, at half-past 2 o’clock on Monday, the 4th day of November. That first-class Riverina squatting property known as NYANG Situate on the Edward River, in the Murrumbidgee district of the colony of New South Wales, containing an area of about 96,000 acres, together with all improvements, 320 acres free-hold land and the following stock, viz:- 4000 full-mouthed ewes, 3000 six-tooth do, 2500 four year old wethers, 4000 two-tooth, mixed sexes, 4500 weaners, 100 rams, Total 18,100 sheep. Also, 1000 head of superior well-bred cattle. Horses and station plant given in. This run is situate on the south bank of the Edward River. Is well watered in all seasons, securely fenced in, and subdivided into seven paddocks, and is in perfect working order. The stock will bear the minutest inspection, and with the exception of the full-mouthed ewes (which have been carefully selected by Mr. Shaw) are mostly the progeny on both sides of Ercildoun rams. The cattle are well bred and of the most suitable ages. As this property is so well known it is unnecessary to describe it at great length, and attention is only drawn to the fact that its rarely such an opportunity for the investment of capital presents itself. For further particulars apply at our office. KING and CUNNINGHAM, 67 Bourke street west.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 4 January 1873
THE WOOL GROWERS AND THE LONDON SALESMEN. An influential meeting of the representatives of the wool-producing interest in Victoria and Riverina was held at Scott’s Hotel on Thursday. It was convened, by requisition, to consider communications, which were received from England by the last mail, and to renew the agitation for the removal abuses, which the London agents seemed to have made no attempt to reform. Between 70 and 80 gentlemen were present, and the attendance was regarded as an unusually large one. The following, among others, were in the room: – Hon. John O’Shanassy, C.M.G., the Hon. T. McKellar, M.L.C., Messrs. Murphy, jun, George Dill, Robert Patterson, John Cochran, Walter Clark, Samuel Wilson, J. O’Shanassy, Jun., James Osbourne, Henry Loughnan, Chambers, W. Lang, Colin Simson, Myles Patterson, McPherson, Hervey, R. Landale, A. Landale, James Cochran, Godfrey, W. A. Broadribb, K. E. Broadribb, Thomas Baillie, Gwynne, McGuire, Macfarlane, Ricketson, Severne, Simon Fraser, Wilson (of Coree), N. Gilbert, and F. Moore, Dr. McDonald, and Captain Loughnan. Mr. Gwynne was called to the chair. The Chairman said that the requisition, which had been signed by eight gentlemen well known to be deeply interested in the matter they had to consider, would explain the object of the meeting. The meeting had been summoned in consequence of a letter received from London by the last mail, as follows: –

“F. S. Dalgety, Esq., Chairman of the Committee of the Australian Wool Association; Messrs. Dalgety and Ducroz, Lambert-street London – The undersigned producers of wool in the Australian colonies have had brought before us certain abuses which exist in the management of the sale of wool in London, reference to which has been frequently made of late in correspondence from the colonies, and which are more particularly detailed in a circular published in the Melbourne Argus of 23rd April, 1872, and signed by fifty-six of the principal names in Victoria and New South Wales. As no steps have, to our knowledge, been taken in London to meet our wishes in the sale of our produce, we respectfully beg to intimate that we shall not employ any agent or broker who shall not at once agree to the immediate abolition of draft, and will not pledge himself to act as selling broker only. With regard to the other matters alluded to in the circular referred to above, we do not press them at present but leave them to be arranged on a future occasion.” Signed THOMAS LIVINGSTON LEARMONTH, And several others.”

He thought they would all acknowledge that no name of greater weight could be attached to any document. (Hear, hear.) When they saw Mr. Thomas Livingston Learmonth’s name at the foot of this notice, they had sufficient reason for now making a stir. He was exceedingly glad to see so many influential persons in attendance.

MR. SAMUEL WILSON, of the Wimmera, observed that the meeting had been called in consequence of some correspondence, which had passed between some gentlemen in London and others in the colony. The letters, which arrived by the last mail, were considered by the committee appointed to look over them, and it was thought best to lay them before a full meeting of squatters and woolgrowers, but as the private matters of various firms were mentioned in the letters, it was not thought desirable to make them public. There was a movement in the old country for reform in the sales of wool. We had already done a good deal on this side of the water, and it was to be hoped we should be able to do as much on the other side. The question of draft had been considered here and abolished, and what we wanted was to have it abolished in London, so as to have the full value of the wool, instead of 1 per cent taken off. He believed that if pressure were brought to bear, their object would be carried out, and therefore be moved- “That in consequence of a movement in London amongst the Australian woolgrowers, having for its objects the abolition of draft on wool sold in London, and other reforms in the sale of wool, this meeting pledges itself to support by every legitimate means the objects referred to.” MR. ALEXANDER LEARMONTH seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 4 February 1873
NEWS AND NOTES. The inhabitants of Egerton were honored last week with a visit of the Rev. J. B. Power, who came to this colony about six weeks ago, from England, for the benefit of his health. The rev. gentleman, who is at present on a visit at Ercildoun with Mr S. Learmonth on Thursday last, for the double purpose of delivering an address to the inhabitants of the place and of seeing the mine belonging to Messrs Learmonth. A public meeting was held in the Church of England at 8 p.m., Mr Learmonth was voted to the chair. After the singing of a hymn prayers were offered up by Mr A. W. Caffin, the indefatigable minister of the church. The Rev. Mr Power then took for his subject the 15th chapter of St. Luke, from the 11th to the 15th verses, which he did full justice to in a very impressive and earnest manner for over three quarters of an hour. The church was filled with attentive hearers. At the close of the address a large collection was made, which will be given over for the purpose of augmenting the funds of the Sunday-school connected with the church. On Friday morning, Mr Power, accompanied by Mr Learmonth and Mr Baily, the manager of the mine, explored the mine and witnessed the washing up and smelting of the gold taken out of the mine during the past week. Both visitors left for Ercildoun in the afternoon well pleased with their visit to Egerton. Before leaving Egerton, Mr Power (who is the author of several good books) promised to forward to Mr Caffin a present of several books and tracts to be added to the library belonging to the Sunday school.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 13 March 1873
THE LEARMONTH SOCIAL GATHERINGS. “On Tuesday, 11th March, the Union Jack flying from the tower of Ercildoun House denoted that the fifteenth anniversary of the picnic and sports would be commemorated that day. About ten o’clock a.m. vehicles of every description poured in from the various parts of the surrounding country with their human freight, and by twelve o’clock about 250 had sat down to a sumptuous dinner (the fair sex being fairly in the ascendant), and did justice to the goodly things provided. The spread was excellent, and, in variety, could not be surpassed, and reflected credit upon Mr Thomas Harris, the butler, who hitherto, as caterer, distinguished himself, but on this occasion quite eclipsed his previous efforts. After dinner various sports were begun, some taking to kiss in the ring, others to racing, and others to dancing on the green. There was some vigorously contested quoit matches, and the sack race, as usual, caused no end of merriment, as many of the competitors came to grief. Then there were children’s races, which were largely patronized by both sexes, which caused great amusement. The day’s sports were wound up with a pig race, which created much laughter. The pig made various tacks, followed in close pursuit by the crowd, and managed to elude his pursuers for a considerable time, until he was doubled, and fell a victim to one of his tormentors. All now sat down and partook of tea, after which the assemblage formed in procession, preceded by office-bearers, and carrying banners on which were inscribed emblematic mottoes for the occasion. Having arrived at the lawn in front of the house, Mr Hain in a neat speech, on behalf of the assemblage, thanked Mr S. Livingstone Learmonth for the kind and hospitable manner in which he had so generously entertained them, to which Mr Learmonth gave a suitable reply. Three cheers were given for Mr and Mrs Learmonth. The shades of evening were by this time beginning to close over us, and those from afar made to their respective vehicles, attended by those who were engaged on the estate, and said ‘good-night’ with that reciprocity of mutual good feeling which characterized one and all throughout the day, without a hitch having taken place to mar their happiness. In the evening all the in and out-door servants collected together in the servants’ hall, where a lottery bag, with a variety of fancy goods, was waiting for the females to prospect with. Too much praise cannot be bestowed upon the Messrs Learmonth for their kindness and generosity, not only to their servants, but their charity to the different institutions in and around the Ballarat district.”

The Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic.) 29 March 1873
THE “BUS” PAPERS. I am sorry the autumn agricultural shows are nearly over. I don’t know, or indeed care, whether they do any good or not, but they afford subject matter for very pleasant reading. The last report I gloated over was that of the Ballarat show, where I found that the following prizes were given, and met as I give them, in a string: – “Bonedust: 10s., J. McM. Superphosphate: 10s. do do. Sample of tatting: 10s. Miss A.G.” At first sight, and taking the item in connection with the other two, I fancied that “tatting” must have had something more to less to do with ‘taters;’ but this was mistake. On consulting a great agricultural authority, I found it was an art by mean of which young ladies wasted much time and much thread in the manufacture of articles of wearing apparel, which turn “all of a heap” after the very first washing. Of course, Mr. McM. would never have exhibited his bonedust unless certain of winning so valuable a prize; but this is not nearly so laughable as the idea of the same society tendering those Ercildoun millionaires, Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, with another half-sovereign for a sample of pickles. If the society fail, in advancing the agricultural interest, it certainly will not be due to the fact that they do not shake sugar on the tails of the exhibitors.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 19 April 1873
ADVERTISEMENT. At the Corporation Cattle-yards. MESSRS LEARMONTH’S PURE MERINO EWES. Hepburn and Leonard, instructed by Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, Ercildoun, will sell by Auction, as above, in lots to suit purchasers – 400 Pure Merino Ewes – Dry, sound mouthed, and in excellent condition. A very superior lot for breeding from, being cast ewes, and not culls.

The Advocate (Melbourne, Vic.) 26 April 1873
AUSTRALIAN TELEGRAMS. NEW SOUTH WALES, Sydney. Saturday. The judges of the wool show have delivered their awards. Mr. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, takes the first prizes for washed, combing, greasy, best bale wool washed on sheep’s back, and champion prize for twelve best fleeces. Mr. Fisher, of Adelaide, wins the Gibson Cup, and the prize for six rams’ fleeces.

At the Agricultural Society of New South Wales, in the Preserved and Dried Fruits Section – “A case of crystallised fruit, shown by Mr. Learmonth of Ercildoune, is the most noticeable object in the class.”

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 26 April 1873
NEW SOUTH WALES. Excerpts – The Exhibition was opened this morning by the Governor, with the due formalities. The wool judges have completed their duty and published the prize-list. Mr. Learmonth, who took five prizes, carried off the honours in every section in which he exhibited. He had, however, a close run for the champion prize for the most valuable 12 fleeces, Mr. Gibson, of Tasmania, pressing him hard. The prize for washed wool, also gained against Mr. Gibson, was thoroughly well deserved. The Mudgee breeders have held aloof from the show, much to the regret of those who wish to see a fair and thorough comparison of Australasian wools. But they are, unfortunately, a little jealous about competing with each other, and perhaps still more sensitive about competing with Mr. Learmonth…

ADVERTISEMENT. 1 July 1873. AT THE JOHN BULL YARDS, ADELAIDE. Instructions from C. B. Fisher, Esq. to sell by auction 7 Heavy Draught Entires – Sovereign, Master Cox, Highlander, Thorn, Chanticleer, Desperado and Beaufort. Four of the dams were bred by Mr. Learmonth, namely Queen, Rose, Queen Pippin and Madge Wildfire. The quality of Mr. C. B. Fisher’s Draught Stud is now so well recognized that comment is unnecessary.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 5 July 1873
AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL INTELLIGENCE. One of the most eminent breeders of sheep in the colonies, and certainly the most successful (says the Pastoral Times) in Victoria, has aparently fallen back on Mudgee for first-class sires in the shape of rams. A late issue of the Singleton Times says: – “Lately we had the pleasure of inspecting two pure-bred ‘merino rams’ that have been selected from the stud flock of N. P. Bayly, Esq., of Havilah, and purchased by Messrs King and Cuningham, stock and station agents, Bourke street, Melbourne, for a client, at the following high figures: – No. 1, first-class pure merino ram, 5 years, 300 guineas; No. 2, first-class pure merino ram, 4 years, 150 guineas.” The two rams above mentioned recently arrived at Groongal station, district of Hay, have passed on to Echuca, and are intended, we hear, for the stud at Ercildoun, in Victoria. Possibly Mr Learmonth is about to try an experiment, and use the splendid animals thus bought of Messrs. Bayly with some of the very best of the Learmonth ewes at famed Ercildoun. This gentleman works quietly (like all men that are really earnest in solving a difficult problem) in seeking to discover whether Bayly’s best sheep are preferable to Learmonth’s Al. This incident is likely to put those breeders in Riverina on their mettle, who have fought all along in the contest for pre-eminence in regard to best and most profitable fleeces.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 8 July 1873
NEWS AND NOTES. The beautiful property of Ercildoun, the seat of our earliest pioneers, the Learmonths, is, we notice, advertised for sale in August next. Mr T. L. Learmonth, who left here over five years ago, has, we believe, finally decided to live out the remainder of his well-spent life on the family estate near Falkirk, in Scotland. This may have something to do with the sale of Ercildoun, but in any case we trust there is no likelihood of the estate passing away from its original owners, or of the removal of Mr Somerville L. Learmonth, its present occupant, from our neighborhood.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 8 July 1873
STOCK AND STATIONS. IMPORTANT PRELIMINARY NOTICE. ERCILDOUN ESTATE. Consisting of 26,825 (Twenty-six thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty-five) acres. FREEHOLD, And 26,000 (Twenty-six Thousand) SHEEP, Of the Well-known ERCILDOUN BLOOD, King and Cuningham have received instructions from Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, to OFFER for sale by PUBLIC AUCTION, at Menzies’ Hotel, On FRIDAY, the 22nd day of AUGUST, next, the above splendid property.

The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW) 10 July 1873
The Havilah Sheep. A few issues back we announced that Mr. N. P. Bayly, J.P., of Havilah, Mudgee, had sold to a Melbourne buyer (whose name had not transpired), two high-priced rams. A good deal of speculation as to who was the purchaser was evinced in these parts. It now turns out that the buyers were Messrs. Learmonth, the celebrated sheep breeders, of Ercildoun, Victoria. As a southern paper remarks: – “This is certainly an exquisite compliment paid to our New South Wales premier breeder by the premier breeder of Victoria; an acknowledgement that Mr. Bayly can produce stock able to improve those pronounced already to be on the point of perfection.” Dubbo Dispatch, 4th July.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 16th August 1873
THE SALE OF ERCILDOUNE. Next week an event is to occur in the stock-breeding world which demands more than the passing notice of a paragraph, or the advertisement of an auctioneer. The estate of Ercildoun is to be submitted to the highest bidder, and what seems to us of great national importance is that before our next issue the flocks of the Messrs Learmonth will have fallen into other hands. These gentlemen occupy a position in this colony similar to that held by the late Bakewell, of New Leicester celebrity, and equal to that of the Bates’, and Booths, of the short-horn world. Like Bakewell, they have formed a new breed, or, to be more exact, a new variety of the merino type. The one found the Leicester sheep of Britain an inferior animal; he left it an immensely improved breed, so much so that it was named the new Leicester. The Learmonths found the merino of Victoria – or rather say the Tasmanian merino, as was from thence they brought their original sheep – an inferior animal they leave it with us without a rival. We may fairly term the Ercildoun sheep a new type of merino. Fortunately for the colony there are other breeders, whose names are familiar to us, on the same track, pursuing the same course. How many of our very best flocks trace back in a great degree to Ercildoun blood! Which of the Australian colonies is not indebted to the persevering sagacity of the Learmonths? Twenty-five or more years ago the rams sold by these gentlemen were, if not the best, among the highest classes. They were then at the top of the tree; with little or no diminution since that time they have remained firmly fixed on the very topmost height of the merino sheep-breeding world. In shows of sheep they won the chief prizes. In exhibitions of wool they bore the palm. At the London wool sales they topped the market. Once now and again other wools would reach prices equal to theirs – nay, in isolated cases, even surpass them – but this was only temporary. The Messrs Learmonth would buckle on their armour and win the fight. A Currie, a Shaw, or a Cumming might push them hard at the great shows of merinos at Skipton, and beat them too. A Simson or a Dowling might take a champion prize from them; but, as a rule, they won the bulk of the highest prizes. The year before last we find them taking five of the only six possible prizes. Last year not so many. With judges from Tasmania, Riverina, from the far west, and from near Skipton itself, it mattered not, they were sure to win. Look at the exhibition of wools in London, open to all the world, and judged by the best of all judges. Of Messrs Learmonth’s wool they say: “The finest bale of wool we ever saw” – the exhibition bales selling for the highest price ever realized for Victorian wool – 4s 8d per lb. for one bale, and 4s 6d for the other, the next in order reaching 4s 1d. Again, if Victoria wishes to show well with our sister colonies, to Sydney goes the Ercildoun wool, and by their own judges – antagonistic judges, if it is possible to conceive such things among experts – the Messrs Learmonth carry off all the best prizes; they win in a canter. Is not the selling of such stock one of national moment? Who can step into the shoes of such men?

“It is not in merino sheep alone that Ercildoun has been pre-eminent. The breeders of draught horses remember the names of Bothwell and Wrestler, imported by the Messrs Learmonth. They had the best draught mares, and had the very highest-class stock till they parted with them to make more room for the merino. Of Hereford cattle these gentlemen have the very choicest. Had they turned their attention to short horns then would our Morton and Macdougalls, our Blacks, Robertsons, and Wares have had foremen worthy of their steel. Whether in sheep, horses, or cattle the Messrs Learmonth have proved themselves worthy followers of illustrious names, and men of whom this colony ought to be proud and sorry to lose. It may well be asked how is it that where there are so many breeders at work with equal skill and perseverance Ercildoun remains at the top, retains its carefully obtained prestige? An answer is, that for so very long a time – nearly, if not entirely, thirty years – there has been a pure flock on that property. Other breeders have not this great advantage; but the chief answer to the question is – the land on which those pure sheep run. The climate, the soil, the position, or a something about this place makes it one of, if not the finest breeding place for merinos in this colony. The Messrs Learmonth are men for progress, they had the means, the skill, the perseverance, and the country. They had the best sheep in the best country. The fat wethers from this land frequently sold higher than superior cross-bred sheep, and nearly always topped the market for merinos. This means chiefly the goodness of country, and secondarily, good management. The reasons the Ercildoun wool sells so well are that it is well-bred, well-grown, well-fed, and perfectly washed. To one who loves his country it must be a serious subject of thought – Will Ercildoun fall into the hands of a progressive man, one who will keep up and improve the standard of excellence of its flocks? Or will it go to one who by neglect or trying vain experiments will degrade the stock to those of a common order? Let us hope for the best. In the meantime, let us pay a tribute of respect, a richly-deserved eulogy on those gentlemen, the Messrs Learmonth, who, as employers of labor in developing the mining resources of the colony, as men of probity and honor, and as pioneers of this country devoting themselves to the improvement of our flocks and herds, are worthy the incitation and highest regards of all true Victorians.”

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 23 August 1873
ERCILDOUN AND ITS FLOCKS. Excerpts – Upon this beautiful country the Learmonths “squatted,” and in the 36 years they have lived at Ercildoun they have succeeded in attracting towards the name of the family and their seat, something of that respect which the great landed gentry of England count upon as part of their inheritance. It came, therefore, to many as a shock, when they saw the announcement that Ercildoun was to be sold. We had begun to look upon the Livingstone Learmonth family as the first of those landed proprietors, who being where they are, lords of large tracts of fine land, would sooner or later work out the problem whether such neighbors could here, as in the old land at home, influence and bind together the rural populations of our district. The 27,000 acres of land, or thereabouts, forming the Ercildoun estate is a principality which many a prince would think himself a prince indeed if he possessed. Of the quality of the land we need say little. Of the flocks depasturing thereon we can say much.

The first sheep introduced in 1838 to Ercildoun run were from a very superior flock well known in Tasmania, but it was not until 1848 that the pure Ercildoun flock was established. The progenitors of this flock had been imported from Germany, and the flock, when it was transferred to Ercildoun, was warranted to be free from intermixture with baser blood. It was not very promising in appearance. Many of the sheep were light in fleece, small in carcass, and of that angular form which all graziers know indicates the reverse of an aptitude to fatten. But it was pure. It was bout the year 1846 or 1847 that Mr Thomas Shaw came to Victoria. Having had a thorough knowledge of wool from his boyhood, and being an enthusiast himself, he tried to impress upon all interested in sheep that it required no more grass to feed a sheep with a good and heavy fleece, than one which produced a fleece which is light and of little value. He then introduced a system of classing, retaining for breeding purposes the superior animals, and rejecting to be fattened those of less profitable character. At first he had not many supporters, but Mr Currie, of Larra, Mr Thomas Livingstone Learmonth, of Ercildoun, and a few others went heart and hand into his scheme, and the result of his skill was so soon made manifest that before long he had more demands upon his time than he could satisfy. His sons inherited their father’s energy and skill, and it is not too much to say that it is chiefly owing to their influence that the merino wool of Victoria and Riverina has attained its present high degree of excellence. Indeed, we have heard Mr Somerville Livingstone- Learmonth himself assert that Messrs Thos. Shaw, senior and junior, “regenerated Victoria,” and we can well believe it.

In cattle, the white-faced Hereford has been the distinguishing feature of the Ercildoun herd. The nucleus of the herd was obtained from the Cressy Company, in Tasmania, about thirty years ago, some splendid sires having been introduced from England at suitable intervals. As workers they arrive at an enormous size, as those can testify who have seen them in the streets of Ballarat, and we are informed that some of the fatted bullocks have reached the enormous weight of 1400 lb.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 23 August 1873
The fine station property near Ballarat known as Ercildoun, belonging to Messrs. Learmonth, who are about to visit Europe, was offered for sale yesterday afternoon by Messrs. King and Cuningham, at Menzies’ Hotel.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 25 August 1873, The Australasian (Melbourne,, Vic.) 30 August 1873 and The Maitland & Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW) 2 September 1873 repeated the story from The Ballarat Star on THE ERCILDOUN SHEEP.
Excerpt – It was well known that for centuries the Spaniards were very jealous of parting with any of the merinos, passing laws prohibiting their exportation, with heavy penalties. As a favour the Elector of Saxony received a few, and having proved their suitability to the country, he arranged for a larger number. This importation into Germany of such sheep was the chief means by which Spain lost its position as a great wool-exporting country. Germany gradually monopolized the trade with England, and the introduction of the merino into Australia has caused another revolution in the wool trade of the world; these colonies now sending to the home markets more than all the German and Spanish produce added! It is remarkable that in the pure sheep of Ercildoun we have the offspring of the self-same sheep which gave the wool trade to Germany, and which has added so much to the high position Victoria has taken in the present production of wool. While this pure flock of Ercildoun has been kept pure, it has not been bred in and in.

The Evening News (Sydney, NSW) 23 August 1873
TELEGRAMS THIS DAY. Death of Detective Powell. New Candidate for Mudgee. Municipal Movement at Gulgong. The Premier at Carcoar. The Melbourne Bookmakers for Randwick. The Affray with Blacks at the Etheridge River. Scarlet Fever at Brisbane. THE ‘ERCILDOUN’ STATION.

The South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA) 26 August 1873
TELEGRAPHIC MESSAGES VICTORIA. Melbourne, August 25 The Ercildoun estate has been sold privately to Mr. Wilson, of the Wimmera District.

The Wagga Wagga Advertiser & Riverine Reporter (NSW) 26 August 1874
G. A. ELLIOT has been instructed to sell by public auction, at Wagga Wagga, on Thursday, the 3rd of September next (the day after the Pastoral Show) 10 Pure Hereford Bulls, ages, from 16 months to 2½ years. The above Bulls are from the renowned Hereford breeders, Messrs. Learmonth, and are all guaranteed by imported bulls out of pure stud cows, which are from imported dams and sires.

The Freeman’s Journal (Sydney, NSW) 30 August 1873
SQUATTING PROPERTY IN VICTORIA. – The station, near Ballarat, known as Ercildoun, the property of Messrs. Learmonth, was offered for sale on the 22nd instant…

The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 5 September 1873
ERCILDOUN STATION, VICTORIA. Our Melbourne telegram in last Wednesday’s issue stated that the above station had been privately sold for nearly a quarter of a million sterling. The Melbourne Argus of August 23 says: – The fine station property near Ballarat known as Ercildoun, belonging to Messrs Learmonth, who are about to visit Europe, was offered for sale yesterday afternoon by Messrs King and Cunningham, at Menzies’ Hotel. The estate comprises 26,695 acres, with dwelling-house, wool-shed, fencing, and other improvements, and carries at present 32,528 sheep and lambs, 966 head of cattle, and 29 horses. The improvements and stock were valued at £47,947, and the purchaser of the landed estate would, according to conditions of sale, have to purchase them at that valuation, in addition to the price of the land. There was a very large attendance, it was said the largest and most representative in wealth that has been seen at any sale in Melbourne. A few minutes after the reading of the legal documents had commenced, it was difficult to squeeze into the large room at Menzies’, and it was thought that the bidding would reach a quarter of a million, but those who expected spirited bidding were disappointed. The land was to be sold at so much an acre, and the bidding started at £5 per acre. It was stated that the estate would probably be privately sold at the upset price within a day or two.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 8 September 1873
THE ERCILDOUN ESTATE. The Messrs. Learmonth having resolved to settle in Europe, have sold their valuable estate of Ercildoun. The following particulars of the auction are from our Melbourne correspondent: – “The sale was announced by Messrs. King and Cuningham to take place on Friday, at Menzies’ hotel, Melbourne, at half-past two o’clock. Considerably before that hour, however, the room was densely crowded, and when the auctioneer proceeded to read the conditions of sale, not only were all the avenues of the hotel and the doorways leading to the auction room blocked up by the curious in speculative investments, but the windows looking into Bourke street were raised by outsiders who had failed to gain admittance to the hotel. Altogether, probably, the muster may be set down at 500. It was an interesting assemblage, for it comprised bankers, merchants, wool-brokers, squatters, men who had had stations and lost them, men without stations and wanting to buy them, big capitalists and small dealers, the ‘old identity’ and the ‘new iniquity,’ hardy old pioneers whose wealth has grown with the growth of the country, and perfumed dons of a later epoch who are better acquainted with the Collins street block than with dipping or shearing; solicitors, some having an immediate, others a remote interest in the sale. The conditions of sale took fully half an hour to read. At last the real work of the day commenced by several bids of £5 per acre, followed immediately by an advance of 10s. There was no longer to be heard the jingling of champagne glasses. Buyers and non-buyers kept their attention steadfastly fixed upon the auctioneer. Nearly five minutes elapsed before ‘£6 per acre for this magnificent and improving property’ rang forth from the gentleman upon the table. Who bid it was difficult to determine in such a dense crowd for no utterance could be heard, and only the auctioneer was capable of determining where the offers came from. Now £6 5s was announced, the bid being dwelt upon lingeringly, hopefully, as before; then £6 10s followed, and, after a similar interval, came £6 15s, and this was the last offer. Vain were the appeals, impotent the glowing description of what a magnificent property was about to pass away from its owners, clearly no one present intended going further, and at last, realizing the fact, the auctioneer announced that it was bought in for the owners at £9 per acre. The general gossip in the room was to the effect that the competition fell short of what was expected, and that, considering the increased value of station property, the reserve of £9 per acre was a reasonable one.” Some few days afterwards the estate, comprising an area of 26,695a Or 13p, dwelling-house, &c., and all other improvements thereon, together with 32,538 sheep, 979 head of cattle, horses, implements, stores, and other goods and chattels, upon the estate, were sold to Mr. Samuel Wilson, of the Wimmera, the price being near the original upset. This district and the colony lose in the Messrs Learmonth very valuable colonists, famous for their enterprise, integrity, and liberality.

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) 8 September 1873
OUR MELBOURNE LETTER. Excerpt – One of the questions looming in the future, and which is destined to occupy the public mind probably during the next general election is a revision of our system of taxation. The last two or three great agitations have been over the revision of our tariff in the interest, as supposed, of local manufactures. Now, however, the tendency in men’s minds is rather towards the abolition of Customs duties and the imposition of a fairer amount of taxation on acquired property. During the recent discussions in the Assembly on the action of the Upper House in refusing to pass the Reform Bill of the Assembly, Mr. Higinbotham sounded the key-note of this new agitation, and it met with a pretty general and favourable echo from both sides of the House. The animus, which prompted the allusion to the proposed change, was of course palpable. The members of the Council are treated as the possessors and representatives of the landed wealth of the colony, and Mr. Higinbotham desires to reach them in that way, which shall make them feel the punishment most severely. A part from this immediate moving cause, however, there is a strong and growing feeling in favour of the direct taxation of property, for the proposing of which, before it was ripe three years ago, Sir James McCulloch was driven from office. Incidental to this discussion, allusion has been made to the manifest tendency here, as in England, of property to accumulate in few hands. One gentleman’s name has been mentioned as the owner of a million sheep running over his own and the public lands, and who has just added to his estates by the purchase of another at the price of £250,000. This latter is the sum which Mr. Learmonth, one of our oldest settlers in the Ballarat district, realizes for his well-known estate of Ercildoun, besides the product of other smaller properties. The case might have been mentioned of a near neighbor of Mr. Learmonth’s who has recently refused £200,000 for his freehold estate, with the stock now depasturing upon it.

The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW) 9 September 1873
GENERAL NEWS. THE PURCHASER OF ERCILDOUN – The purchase by Mr. Samuel Wilson, of Ercildoun, and all of the splendid sheep, bred there by Messrs. Learmonth, promises great things for Riverina, where Mr. Wilson has a very large quantity of station property. He will, no doubt, import into the saltbush country some of the choice sheep of his new purchase. Mr. Wilson owns, we believe, a greater number of sheep than any other settler in Riverina, and we ought never to forget the change for the better in the country, principally brought about by the Wilsons, Learmonths, Cochrane, and other settlers from over the Murray. They have all done well out of the broad lands of Riverina, and they deserved to do so, for they were extensive and liberal employers of labor – they did, in fact, revolutionise squatting matters in these parts by their science, zeal, and capital, neither of which they spared. It was these gentlemen who first introduced fencing-in the runs here, which, more than any other cause, was the salvation of pastoral matters amongst us. We hear that the whole of the property, known as Ercildoun, including land, houses, stock, &c., fetched £250,000, which is the largest sum given for any one station in the Australian colonies. – Pastoral Times, Aug. 30.

The Adelaide Observer (SA) 6 September 1873
AGRICULTURAL AND STATION MEMORANDA. The Ballarat Star gives a long history of the celebrated Ercildoun sheep, which illustrates in a marked manner the profitableness of careful breeding.

The Geelong Advertiser (Vic) 12 September 1873
The Western District Pastoral and Agricultural Society’s Annual Show. “The absence of the Messrs Learmonth from the grounds this year for the first time seemed to leave a blank, although their places were filled by Mr Wilson, who may be styled the squatting king of the Western district. The Ercildoun flock has not been so successful in prize-taking this year, but the blood is all there.”

The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW) 13 September and The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) 15 September 1873
THE LAND. Although the Learmonth Estate, Ercildoun, has passed into other hands, the name of THE BROTHERS LEARMONTH will ever stand associated with the progress of Australia. Although settled in Victoria their influence was not confined to that colony. The Australian colonies all participated in the effects of their skill and enterprise. When looking down o the lake district of Burrumbeet, beyond the Loddin, in the year 1837, being the first explorers of that part, they could little have presaged the great reputation to which the country on which they squatted would be raised by their efforts. The fame of Ercildoun has spread beyond Australia, and there is scarcely a colonist but will read of its passing into other hands without regret. There is not a finer estate in Victoria than the 27,000 acres that bears the name of the old keep on the Scottish Border, historically associated with the Learmonth family, and was recently sold for a sum which affords the late possessors a princely reward for their enterprise. The narrative of the Learmonth settlement forms one of the most interesting pages in the history of the colony, and never should be lost. How the early explorers fought their way through and over difficulties and finally established themselves, and founded flocks and herds of high celebrity, are facts of which a country should be proud and scrupulously careful. We intend to give some of the details that are to be found in the journals of the day, for the purpose of making our columns bear witness to the incomparable energy and foresight of the brothers Thomas of the brothers Thomas Livingstone Learmonth and S. Livingstone Learmonth…with information also from the Ballarat Star.

The Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld.) 13 September 1873
Excerpt – The announcement that the estate of Ercildoun, near Ballarat, the property of Messrs. Learmonth, and the Lillirie estate, also in the same district, would be put up for sale by public auction, at Menzie’s Hotel, on Friday afternoon, drew a very large assemblage of capitalists and others interested in station property. Altogether between 400 and 500 persons were present at the sale, and champagne flowed copiously to the music of the auctioneer, who descanted in glowing terms upon Ercildoune and its surroundings.

The Geelong Advertiser (Vic.) 13 September 1873
TOWN TALK. The Ballarat Post regrets to learn that Mr S. L. Learmonth is very seriously indisposed. It believes that gentleman is suffering from inflammation of the lungs and great general debility, brought on by exposure to the weather and bodily exertion in giving delivery of his estate, lately purchased by Mr S. Wilson. Dr King, his medical adviser, is in close attendance upon him at Ercildoun.

The Ballarat Post (Vic.) 15 September 1873
Mr. S. L. Learmonth, is somewhat better, the acute pain the chest from which he was suffering being slightly diminished.

The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 30 September 1873
We noticed on Saturday the arrival of a large number of valuable merinos, from Mr Currie’s Larra flock, Victoria. By the City of Brisbane yesterday, Messrs. Kent and Wienholt received forty-nine ewes and eight rams from the celebrated Ercildoun flock of Messrs. Learmonth, in the same colony. It will have been noticed that the Ercildoun property recently changed hands for the enormous sum of a quarter of a million, and some idea of the cause of such an immense sum having been given for a comparatively small property may be formed from the fact that the fifty-seven sheep just imported by Messrs. Kent and Wienholt, cost £1300 landed at this port. The Ercildoun sheep have long stood unrivalled as the merino par excellence of Australia. Those just imported are from the pure stud, bred in by Messrs. Learmonth without any interchange of blood whatever for the last thirty years. Amongst the number purchased by Messrs. Kent and Wienholt is a ram, which took high honors at the principal ram show in Victoria. They are now located at the Quarantine Grounds.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 8 October 1873
Mr Somerville Learmonth, of Ercildoun, has been, and still is, ill. His ailment is chronic, and his medical adviser recommends removal to a warmer climate. In the departure of this long-settled family the district loses one source of constant aid to all works of charity and public good.

The Ballarat Courier (Vic.) 20 October 1873
TESTIMONIAL TO MESSRS. LEARMONTH. On Friday last Messrs Cameron, Wrigley, Long, Claxton, and Scott (presidents of the Hospital, Benevolent Asylum, Mechanics’ Institute, and Free Library, respectively) proceeded to Ercildoun for the purpose of presenting an address from the several committees of management, to the Messrs Learmonth, previous to their departure from the district. On arriving at the family mansion, the delegates were received by Mr Livingstone Learmonth, and introduced in a formal manner by Mr Henry Davies, hon. Secretary of the address committee, who read the following address, which was presented by Mr Cameron: –

“To Thomas and Somerville Learmonth, Esqrs., Ercildoun. Gentlemen – We, the presidents on behalf of the committees of management of the charitable and literary institutions of Ballarat, having heard with extreme regret of your intended departure from amongst us, feel that we should be wanting in our duty and deficient in gratitude if we allowed this opportunity to pass without in some measure testifying to your well-known benevolence. Your liberal and timely donations have been of the utmost benefit in themselves; it is, however, the powerful influence for good, which you have always exercised and the social duties, which you have so consistently exemplified, that we specially desire to acknowledge. We know with what gentleness of heart and singleness of purpose you have ever responded to the calls of the maimed, the poor, and the fatherless; and we believe that the reward, which you will hereafter receive, will be far higher than we can venture to predict. In conclusion, we sincerely trust that God, in His providence, may bless both you and yours wherever you may go, and bestow upon you long life, happiness, and prosperity to continue in the exercise of the noble work of charity. We remain, gentlemen, yours faithfully – W. CAMERON, president of the Hospital; R. WRIGLEY, president Benevolent Asylum; J. LONG, president Orphan Asylum; F. M. CLAXTON, president Mechanics’ Institute; W. SCOTT, president Free Library; HENRY DAVIES, hon. Secretary. Ballarat, 3rd October.

To which Mr Learmonth, in a feeling manner, replied as follows: To the presidents of the Hospital, Benevolent Asylum, Orphan Asylum, Mechanics’ Institute, and Free Library, Ballarat – Gentlemen, I find it difficult to acknowledge in suitable terms the kindly feelings which are expressed in your address; but it will be very gratifying to my brothers, as it is to me, to be assured that our endeavors to ameliorate the condition of our afflicted brethren have been counted an encouragement by you, our fellow-workers, and that by making common cause with you for the good of others we have evoked those feeling of kindness and goodwill which you have so delicately expressed. Personally, I feel that I have but small claim to this proof of your esteem, as I have done little more than continue the arrangements of my predecessors. Let me assure you, gentlemen, of my best wishes for the prosperity of the institutions over which you respectively preside, and for your own individual happiness – I am, gentlemen, very faithfully yours, S. LIVINGSTONE LEARMONTH.”

After partaking of luncheon, the visitors were treated with a rare sight. While the company were at luncheon the water in the English trout breeding-ponds had been allowed to run off, so that when the party arrived there the first sight that presented itself was about twenty brown trout floundering at the bottom in about 6 inches of water. The sight would have rejoiced the heart of old Izaak Walton had he been there. As it was, two of his disciples, who were present, became so excited that they did not restrain themselves, but leaped over the wire fence surrounding the pond, and had the satisfaction of tickling and handling one glorious fellow about 3½ lb. in weight. Thanks to those who interested themselves in pisciculture, the time is not far distant when lovers of the rod will have an opportunity of throwing a fly in this district. Leaving the fish-ponds, the visitors then proceeded to the wool shed, where they were shown the washing of some sheep on the hot and cold water principles, assorting wools, &c., &c. the process being fully and clearly explained by Mr Wilson, the new master of Ercildoun, who kindly undertook this task. After spending about an hour in inspecting the garden and grounds, and while preparations were making a start for home, Mr Scott in thanking Mr Learmonth for his hospitality said that although the citizens of Ballarat were about losing the best of neighbors, he had not doubt their places would be worthily filled by their successor, to the latter sentiment all heartily responded. Mr Wilson thanked those present for their good wishes and high opinions, but he feared that in succeeding the Messrs Learmonth he would fare badly by comparison. However, he hoped shortly to make the acquaintance of the people of Ballarat, as he intended to spend a large portion of his time at Ercildoun, where he would endeavor to prove himself a good neighbor. The words “all aboard” being given, the delegates drove away for home, after spending a very pleasant day in the pursuit of a most worthy object.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 15 December 1873
BALLARAT. The hall of the Ballarat Shire Council, at Learmonth, was last night the place selected for bidding a public farewell to one of the best of Victorian colonists, Mr. S. L. Learmonth, late of Ercildoun, who is about to leave the colony for ever. As he said himself, he had known Learmonth for nearly 35 years, and was therefore fully impressed with the extraordinary transformation, which had been made to the place, since he first settled down upon it, and he was also identified with nearly every great stride in advance that had been taken. It was this fact that induced so many of the people of Learmonth to meet him for the last time last night to wish him a kind affectionate farewell; but from what the chairman said it appeared he and others had great difficulty in getting Mr. Learmonth to consent to be present, because his health was not yet fully restored, and because he had an objection, chiefly owing to his health, to public speaking. Mr. Gunn, president of the shire council, occupied the chair, and a large number of gentlemen attended. After the dinner had been disposed of the usual loyal toasts followed. Then followed the toast of the guest, in proposing which the chairman paid a high compliment to the worth of that gentleman and of all the family, as being liberal in all their views and liberal in all their acts, and exceedingly free in their charity, making no distinction between any sets or nationalities, when cases of destitution or of affliction were laid before them, and being also always ready to support with equal liberality all measure likely to promote the public welfare. The family, he said, had by skill and industry acquired great wealth, but they had given ample proofs how well they deserved it; and though they were about to leave not to return, the memory of their kindness and benevolence would remain green in the hearts of the friends they had left. The toast was drunk with rather more than all the honours. In responding, Mr. Learmonth remarked upon the combined feelings of pain and pleasure which he experience; pain at finding he was about for ever to leave a place so much endeared to him, and friends who had long been intimate with him; and pleasure at seeing so many of those friends expressing so sincerely their friendship for him, and their regret at his departure.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 19 December 1873
FAREWELL TO ERCILDOUN. Our Learmonth correspondent writes: – “It is painful and sad to sever old ties and associations, but such has to be done at times, and yet after the severance reminiscences of the past tend to assuage the feeling. On Tuesday last, at Ercildoun, there was a great gathering of employees on the estate, assembled to bid adieu to Mr and Mrs S. L. Learmonth, and do them honor prior to their departure from their old home – a spot as picturesque and charming as they are likely to meet with, even in the bonny hills of Scotland. Over one hundred of the employees assembled at seven o’clock p.m. in the large hall of Ercildoun House for the purpose of taking a last farewell to Mr Learmonth and family. The proceedings commenced by singing the well-known hymn, “Shall we gather at the river,” followed by a few appropriate remarks from Mr Knox, missionary on the station. An address was then read and presented to Mrs Learmonth by Mrs Breslyn on behalf of the married women on the station, which was also backed up by Mrs Kerr making in their name a presentation of a handsome case of jewellery supplied by Mr T. P. Gerrard, of Lydiard street, Ballarat, and suitably engrossed in remembrance of Ercildoun. On behalf of the male employees, Mr Harris read to Mr Learmonth a suitable address, after which, one of Mr Learmonth’s oldest servants, Mr John Hether, who has been in the employ as shepherd for upwards of thirty years, presented Mr Learmonth with an elegant silver double inkstand, supplied by Mr Kilpatrick, of Collins Street, Melbourne, as a token of esteem and remembrance. The testimonial, which was subscribed by the employees, bore the following inscription: – ‘A souvenir from the employees on Ercildoun Estate, to S. Livingstone Learmonth, 20th November, 1873.’ Mr Learmonth, on behalf of Mrs Learmonth and himself, then very touchingly replied, referring to the tokens of good feeling thus manifested. The company then sat down to a sumptuous dinner provided for the occasion, and after it had been done justice to, each person was presented with an appropriate gift. An adjournment was then made to the servants’ hall, where Terpsichore presided for many hours. Mr Learmonth and family quitted (typo?) Ercildoun on Thursday. (*Terpsichore in Greek Mythology is one of the 9 muses and goddess of dance and chorus.)

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 19 December 1873
AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL INTELLIGENCE. The great heats of the past week have only been moderated by an occasional lowering of the temperature and unfulfilled promises of rain. Danger from bushfires has been added to the farmer’s troubles, and what with this and prematurely ripened crops, the harvest prospects in some places are not of the brightest kind. Our Learmonth correspondent writes: “Regarding the crops and harvest prospects I am actually puzzled what to say. I meet a farmer one day and he tells me that the extraordinary heat prevailing will tell on his crop to the extent of 10 bushels per acre. Next day I am in company with the leading farmer of the district, who in very plain and simple language informs me that up to date, he can calculate his loss at £500. Again, I obtain more encouraging reports from the Ercildoun side, where from the nature of the soil, and from my own observation, the crop is right. The land about that locality is undoubtedly the best in the district, having a splendid sub-soil and is so well protected by the surrounding ranges, that the farmer, with due precaution, cannot fail in reaping a harvest for himself.”

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 31 December 1873
COMPLIMENTARY BANQUET TO MR S. L. LEARMONTH. Mr Somerville Livingstone Learmonth, late of Ercildoun, was entertained at a complimentary banquet on Friday evening, 12th December, in the Ballarat Hall at Learmonth. The occasion, as all in the district are aware, was one to be viewed in the light of a public farewell, for persons from all parts of the Ballarat district and from distant places attended at the hall, to demonstrate by their presence the esteem in which they held the guest. The hall was brilliantly decorated with flags and evergreens, and the tables shown off with bouquets of flowers. The chair was occupied by Mr D. Gunn, president of the shire, and the vice-chairs by Messrs T. Bath and James Baird. The guest of the evening sat to the right of the chairman, and was supported by Messrs Joseph Jones, M.L.A., and George Mair, and R. Lewis on the right; and the Revs. Robt. Hamilton, – Steel, and C. L. H. Rupp on his left. Amongst those present were Messrs G. G. Morton, Gilchrist, S. Morrison, and Hy. Cuthbert. The usual loyal toasts having been disposed of, the Chairman proposed – “The Health of the Guest.” He remarked that if their guest had had any shortcomings he would have spoken to them. They had nothing but good to say of the Learmonth family. (Applause.) He had read of the pioneers of Ballarat, but the real pioneers were those who pierced the country right through to the gold-fields, and to the Messrs Learmonth, who thirty-five years ago penetrated the desolate wilds of the Ballarat district. He had known the Learmonths for fourteen years, and to his personal knowledge that well-known family had obtained wealth in the district and colony, and with that wealth they had dealt in unbounded liberality towards their fellow men. The liberality of the Learmonths was so well known that he needed scarcely to speak of it to them. The Learmonths had, by a providential hand, been blessed with wealth, and this had been bestowed upon a family who did not benefit their fellow men in a niggardly manner. They spend their money right and left in the district, every charitable institution and every cause had been supported freely by the Learmonths. Each member of the family was of the same disposition; no matter what religious body needed assistance the money of the Learmonths was always handed out with a freeness, which contrasted greatly with the close-handed manner of other persons in the district possessing wealth. He wished Mr S. L. Learmonth a good and pleasant journey home. The toast was drunk amidst great applause, three cheers being given for the guest, his family, and the absent members of the family. Mr S. L. Learmonth, who was received with prolonged applause, remarked that he had made it a rule in his life to avoid public dinners and public meetings. Respecting the banquet and its object he remarked that there were two phases to the banquet; the first was that it was a pleasing gathering, and the second a sad one. It was a sad one to him – a very sad one – on account of his having to take leave of a large number of friends who had been dear to him for many years, and the greater period of his life in Australia. But still they could even look at the matter in another light. It had also its happy side, for he could assure them he derived great pleasure in meeting so many friends, and if there was nothing else to enhance this pleasure, the warm remarks of the chairman towards himself and those with whom he had been so long connected, but who were now absent, would do so. Amongst those present he noticed some whom he had known for twenty-five years. They had helped to build up his fortune, and he would look upon them as his friends as long as he lived. He hoped they would never rue the day that Providence introduced them to each other. (Hear, hear.) Not only would he ever cherish the memory of friends whom he had known for so many years, but also the place where he had been for many years was still dear to him. It caused a pang in his heart to leave the spot endeared to him by so many pleasant recollections. He could not cast those recollections away like he would an old garment. They would ever return, reminding him of the happy Australian days and the agreeable associations of his friends in the Learmonth district. (Applause.) The place they were now in, which looked so beautiful, he had known for nearly thirty years, and looking back at the progress it had made, he trusted that it would go on prospering and be what it promised, the model township of Victoria. (Cheers.) He was but a poor speaker, and failed to find words sufficient to express his gratitude to all those kind friends who had lavished upon him such really golden opinions. He reciprocated that kindly feeling. And now the time came, and he felt it keenly, to wish them all a final farewell, and he trusted that prosperity and success would crown their efforts in all their undertakings, (Loud cheering.) On the 20th at noon Mr and Mrs S. L. Learmonth and family left the Ballarat Railway station, having bid a final adieu to Ercildoun and all its surroundings. A number of employees of Mr Learmonth were at the station to say good-bye, and many of them were affected to tears. On the station platform we noticed several prominent Ballarat citizens, amongst who were Messrs Oddie, Bath, J. Jones, W. C. Smith, Claxton, T. D. Wanliss, and R. Lewis. Mr Learmonth and family will take up their temporary residence at Queenscliff. We hear that they will not leave the colony quite so soon as was expected, litigation being like to ensue regarding the sale of the Mount Egerton gold mine.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 12 August 1874
LEARMONTH V. BAILEY AND LOUGHLIN.
A report on Mr Learmonth’s cross-examination.

The Gippsland Times (Vic.) 15 August 1874
The Ballarat Star says: – “It is currently reported that Mr Learmonth has offered to re-purchase Ercildoun from the Messrs. Wilson, and that he has offered them £15,000 on their late bargain for this purpose. We are informed that the Lillerie station, near Beaufort, changed hands on Monday, when Mr J. Wilson purchased it from Mr J. N. D. Affleck. The station is private property, and contains about 13,000 acres. The price paid was between £4 7s 6d and £4 10s per acre; the 12,000 sheep, 100 cattle, and horses being taken at a valuation. The dog nuisance is said to be most pronounced on this property, over 500 sheep having been killed or worried upon it last Saturday week.”

Equity Cases.
LEARMONTH v BAILEY.
1874 December 4, 5. Sale of mine-Fraudulent conspiracy –Demurer-Want of Equity-Multifariousness. 1875 February 12, May 5, 6. B., the manager of a Mine belonging to the plaintiffs, sold as agent of the plaintiffs nominally to L., but, as alleged, actually to L., in conjunction with B., W., and E. Subsequently a company was formed by L., B., W., and E., and also two others (Brayton and Davis), to work the Mine, in which all six and none others were shareholders. A bill was filed by the plaintiffs, against the six and the company, to set aside the sale to L.; against the first four on the ground of a fraudulent conspiracy, and against the other two as being trustees, or purchasers with notice. The bill also prayed, as against B. only, for the recovery of the commission paid to him by the plaintiffs on the sale: –

Held by the Full Court, reversing Molesworth, J., on demurrer by the defendants Brayton and Davis and the company, that the bill was not multifarious; but demurer by the same defendants for want of equity allowed.

The Riverine Grazier (NSW) 4 November 1874
FOR SALE. Annual Draft of Rams. Yanko Station. These Rams are from the best blood in the colonies, including the Ercildoune and best Mudgee flocks, and have been bred with very great care in selection. They have been classed by Mr Jonathan Shaw, and are for sale privately by SAMUEL WILSON, Esq., Oakleigh, East St. Kilda, Melbourne. Or MR. MACLEAN, Yanko Station.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 29 March 1875
A FEW HOURS AT ERCILDOUN. Our correspondent writes: –
Excerpts – “It being too hot to ascend the Ercildoun ranges we confined ourselves to the grounds around the house, which were so beautiful to behold, that to proceed further was like being turned out of Paradise. The clump of willows, fully fifty feet high, the group of glorious ferns, and the cool and refereshing waters below and surroundings presented a charming scene that would gladden the heart of an artist to portray. The flowers in the garden were dazzling to the eyes from their vivid and bright colors, though toned down by eery description of pine and other trees and shrubs… Strolling through the paddock, some fine pure merino ews of the Ercildoun breed were pointed out to us, which Mr. Cruickshank stated, Mr. Wilson would not part with for £500 each. There are at present 50,000 sheep on Ercildoun in splendid condition, and free from foot-rot. There is plenty of grass though rain is much needed, the dams getting very low… The exterior of the antique-looking mansion with its well-trimmed ivy called to mind scenes of olden times and a far distant country, the interior befitting any prince or made man. Mr. Wilson contemplates making extensive alterations and improvements to the buildings as well as to the grounds. No wonder it is a muttered remark and surprise that Mr Learmonth should forsake such a lovely spot – a spot which for diversified scenery cannot be easily excelled in this Southern Hemisphere.”

The Leader (Melbourne, Vic.) 17 April 1875
ERCILDOUNE. (FROM OUR TRAVELLING REPORTER.)
On 22nd August, 1873, the Messrs. Learmonth, who had occupied the Ercildoune run since their first settlement upon it in January, 1838, offered it to public competition at Menzies’ Hotel. On that occasion the attendance, it was said, was the largest and most representative of wealth that had ever been congregated at any previous sale in Melbourne. The land was put up at so much per acre, and the purchaser had to take the stock and improvements at a valuation estimate of 47,947 pounds. The bidding for the land started at 5 pounds per acre, and reached 6 pounds 15s., when it was bought in at 9 pounds. It was afterwards bought privately by Mr. Samuel Wilson for a sum that was understood should not be published. It was, however, stated in the papers at the time as amounting to a quarter of a million, including stock and improvements. This sum would place the land, which amounts to 27,000 acres, at about 8 ? pounds per acre. Since the opening of the Ballarat and Beaufort railway, Ercildoune is made easily accessible, lying, as it does, within three or four miles of the Burrumbeet station. Travellers in this direction are familiar with the appearance of the country on each side of the line along the thirteen miles that separate Ballarat from Burrumbeet – open volcanic plains, thickly studded with farms ; numerous bare volcanic hills, and on either hand, the two broad shallow lakes named respectively Burrumbeet and Learmonth. The line runs almost a westerly course from Ballarat, and at Burrumbeet the farms cease and the sheep stations begin. On the left, or to the west, southwards, and south-west, the prospect sweeps away in open plains towards Mount Emu, the Colac and Portland Bay country, embracing an area of 140 mies by about 130, almost entirely occupied for pastoral purposes. On the right the southern fence of Ercildoune bounds the Learmonth farming settlement just above the lake. From the Burrumbeet railway station the road to Ercildoune passes through a level paddock, in which the indigenous timber has been trimmed so as to form a beautiful park. Running parallel with the line, at a distance of about four miles, in this direction, a broken and picturesque range rises, the highest peak of which, standing 3000 feet above the level of the sea, bears on the map the name of Mount Misery. This name arose from the intense cold of the camping-place when the Messrs. Learmonth first occupied the district. It was subsequently named Ercildoune from the old keep on the Scottish border, with which the name of the Learmonths’ ancestor, Thomas the Rhymer, was associated. At the foot of the base of this range, as it is approached from the line, is situated the residence, grounds, garden, orchard, manager’s house, men’s buildings, woolshed, sheepwash and a number of small paddocks laid down with grasses. The grounds round the residence are very beautiful. The proximity of the elevated land northward has given the whole estate an abundant supply of water by means of springs, and this has been taken advantage of in the formation of several artificial lakes, around the banks of which willows of great size and age contrast with grand effect among tree ferns and the coniferae, of which a large and fine variety are tastefully arranged. The manner in which the grounds have been laid out, so as to give a different kind of view from the various windows of the residence, reflects the highest credit on the taste of the designer. Mr. Wilson purposes building a magnificent new mansion, the present not being sufficiently large. Passing across the range to the northwards some idea of the wonderful richness of this estate is obtained. It is found to consist of volcanic mound and valley in continual succession. The run appears, indeed, to be the centre of the great volcanic disturbance from which the surrounding rich country had its origin. From any of the mounts splendid views are obtained, and perhaps it would be difficult to find another estate on which an equal variety of natural advantages could be found. To the southward, beaneath the house, the run extends in rich alluvial flats, naturally formed for irrigation from the springs in the higher land to the north, and from which an unlimited supply of water is always available. To the eastward, lying round the central peak, the country rolls in valleys, which are covered with timber for shelter in summer, and presenting by the frequent mounds complete protection from the cutting winds and rain of winter. Then on the central peak, whivch is thickly clad with timber, and rugged with outcropping masses of granite, all the advantages of a highland shooting-box may be obtained, the paddock round the peak having been set apart for a herd of deer. Here, and in other parts of the estate also, various kinds of game are conserved, and in the artificial lakes salmon trout and other fish are propagated. Since Mr. Wilson purchased the estate he has extended the improvements very largely in various directions. In subdivision alone he has more than doubled the number of paddocks. This he has found necessary, not only for the purposes of carrying out the requisite drafting required on a run devoted to the breeding of first-class sheep, but also for economical purposes ; the paddocks being reduced in size causes the country to do more. Sheep, when they have unlimited range, will not eat the feed of the stronger pastures, and much of this used to go to waste by being allowed to dry up and be trampled down afterwards. The 27,000 acres of the estate are now divided into 60 paddocks, with 120 miles of wire and post and rail fencing, costing from 50 pounds to 99 pounds per mile. The total number of sheep on the run at present is 46,000, all of which are the large-carcased merino, with the dense fleeces of long, lustrous and fine stapled wool for which the Ercildoune sheep have now for so many years been famed. The altitude above the sea gives a climate which appears to be peculiarly suited to the growth of the fleece, and the soil is also in the highest degree suitable. The pure flock, or what may be called the pedigree sheep, numbers about 5,500, and the great care bestowed on it during thirty years in the way of selection has resulted in a remarkable uniformity of quality and weight of fleece. This flock Mr. Wilson paid 30,000 pounds for to Messrs. Learmonth, and it is scarcely necessary to add that there has been no depreciation in the character of the flock since it changed owners. Mr. Wilson has introduced a system of ear-marking high class sheep so as to enable him to separate the progeny of any remarkable animal ; and this is a great aid to selection in improving the stock. The numbering is done by the different combinations of certain marks, of which full particulars are given by Mr. Wilson in his work on the Angora goat. By its means numeration up to 10,000 can be done simply and without complication. The average weight of the total clip, exclusive of lambs, has reached 3lb. 12oz. washed wool. The highest price ogtained last February was 3s. 10½ d. per lb……. one paragraph on prices is hard to read……

The woolshed is fitted up so that the yarding and shearing is effected in the most handy manner. A feature in Mr. Wilson’s management is the use of the best and latest appliances for saving labor in all departments of work, and for doing everything in the best manner. In pressing the wool, for instance, which is done by one of Wilding’s patent presses, the heavy work of raising and depressing the screw, which is naturally performed by hand, is managed by the application of machinery worked by a horse. The arrangements for washing the sheep are among the most important of Mr. Wilson’s improvements. They consist of a four-spout hot-water wash, erected at a cost of 400 pounds. The spouts are supplied with water at a pressure of fourteen feet. This water is brought by pies from a dam above the house, which is in turn supplied from a large lagoon situated between the hills at a height above the station of about 400 feet. From this lagoon water is also lain on to the residence, and for irrigating the grounds. Pipes also convey water to supply the sheepwash boilers, and to an appliance by which the sheep are subjected to a shower bath in the yards before entering the wash. But perhaps the most important improvement on the place is the arrangements for keeping the sheep clean after they are washed. On many establishments where spoutwashing is adopted, the utmost perfection in snow white washing is obtained, but the sheep become soiled in travelling over the dusty ground, first to their drying paddocks, and then to the shed. On Ercildoune the sheepwash is built close alongside the woolshed, and from the wash seven triangular-shaped paddocks, varying from 80 to 120 acres in extent, radiate. Gates into each of those paddocks open from the wash, and the sheep from the time of leaving the water are not disturbed till required for shearing. Three days are usually required for drying. From each of these paddocks again gates open direct on to the battened receiving yard of the woolshed, so that when a flock is required it is quietly driven over the closely-matted sward of its paddock direct to the shearing floor, without the slightest contact with dust. About sixty hands are employed at shearing time, and from thirty to forty during the rest of the year. These are employed as boundary riders, and in the various improvements going on, including the laying down of grasses. A large number of hands are required for the working of such a station as Ercildoune through the necessity for the larger amount of drafting and handling of the sheep required as compared with runs where superior breeding is not carried on. About 1,500 acres altogether are already laid down with grasses, and preparations are being made for increased improvement in this direction. The sorts used are one bushl rye-grass mixed with one pound each of Yorkshire fog, white and red clover, Lucerne, Timonthy, and prairie grass. In addition to the 46,000 sheep kept, the breeding of pure Hereford cattle is also carried on to some extent. The herd number 246, including a large proportion of very fine cows by Launcelot and Druid. The present stud bull of the herd is Pendragon (imported) by the Colonel by Litchfield (2597), dam Gypsey by Young Cyrips (2323), from whom a very promising lot of young stock has been obtained. As Mr. Wilson does not reside at Ercildoune, the immediate management of the estate is carried on by Mr. Cruickshanks, a gentleman whose ability in all matters concerning the management of stock is only equaled by the courtesy for which he is known among the very many who at one time or other visit Ercildoune.

The Ballarat Star (Victoria) 28 December 1875.
Our Learmonth correspondent writes: – “Sir Samuel Wilson, with his lady and family, and their household attendants, arrived at Burrumbeet by special train on Christmas eve, en route for Ercildoun station. Carriages and buggies from the estate were waiting the arrival of the train to convey them the rest of the journey, about six miles through the estate, to the mansion. The inhabitants around the district of Ercildoun will no doubt be pleased to hear of their safe arrival for a short stay on the estate, as they generally add a little life from time to time by their presence in and through the district.”

The Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA) 26 January 1876
SUMMARY OF NEWS. “Atticus” in the Melbourne Leader, says: –
“When Mr. Learmonth sold his fine property of Ercildoun for a quarter of a million of money, ‘they said that it was with the intention of investing the proceeds at home, and spending the remainder of his days in aristocratic ease, and in the society of those whom so worthy a man, or man worth so much (the phrases have the same meaning in the eyes of the world), might know with propriety. But I hear that Mr. Learmonth means to do nothing of the kind. His quarter of a million is being expended in the purchase of land in Riverina. He will buy in, as before, at the Government price, and when, in the course of time, by settlement and population, his acres become worth five or six times what he paid for them, sell out for a million or two. It is, on the whole, rather a wasteful way on the part of the two colonies of giving opportunities to a few men of becoming millionaires.”

The Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic.) 18 March 1876
LEGAL NEWS. THE GREAT EGERTON MINING CASE. Excerpts – Considerable interest was manifested at the Supreme Court on Tuesday on a jury being empanelled to try the issues relegated to them by his Honour Mr. Justice Molesworth, the judge of the Equity Court, in the now famous mining suit Learmonth v. Bailey and others. No little anxiety was displayed by those gentlemen who had been summoned to attend as jurors, for it was well known that once they were empanelled the twelve good men and true would have but little chance of being able to look after their own affairs for at least ten days or a fortnight. The action, it will be remembered, is to recover possession of a mine at Egerton, which the plaintiffs, Learmonth Brothers, late of Ercildoun, allege they were induced to sell for £13,500, by the fraudulent misrepresentations of the defendant, William Bailey, who was the manager of the claim. After the sale the mine suddenly began to yield gold to a far greater extent than it had done before, and several other persons, beside Bailey and Loughlin, became partners in it.

The issues, which the jury has to decide, are as follows: – 1st. Whether the quartz discovered in the mine before or on the 15th September, 1873, was richer in gold than the defendant, Wm. Bailey, represented to the plaintiff, S. L. Learmonth. 2nd. Whether the defendant, Wn. Bailey, made a false representation to the said plaintiff of the value of the quartz in the mine, or of the mine itself, with the intention of inducing the plaintiff to sell it at an under value. 3rd. Whether the plaintiff was induced by such false representation to sell the mine to the defendant, Martin Loughlin, for the sum of £13,500. 4th. Whether there was either on or previously to the 15th September, 1873, an agreement or arrangement between the defendants, Martin Loughlin and Wm. Bailey, that the latter should have a share in the mine after the sale to Martin Loughlin had been concluded. 5th. Whether both the defendants, James Williamson and Owen Edward Edwards, or one of them, knew of the existence of such agreement or arrangement when they bargained to purchase a share in the mine.

The Riverine Herald (Echuca, Vic.) 15 April 1876
GENERAL NEWS. It is stated that the expenses in the trial of the case of Learmonth v Bailey will exceed £10,000.

The Adelaide Observer (SA) 13 May 1876
IMPORTATION OF ARABS – Says “Augur,” of the Australasian – “Mr. Thomas Learmonth ??? arrived from India in the mail steamer, and was accompanied by three Arabian sires. These sons of the desert have been on view at Kirk’s Bazaar, and have attracted great attention. I like best the beautiful grey named Foreigner, a low, lengthy horse, with all the characteristics of an Arab, his head being of the true Arabian type, the forehead broad and intelligent, and the expression mild. He is possessed of plenty of strength, and presents all the appearance of an animal of great stamina. He was, I believe, a great performer on the Indian turf, and was a very favourite stallion in the East. Mr. Learmonth tells me that he had been for three years endeavouring to obtain possession of him, but did not succeed until he last visited Calcutta. In the adjoining box was a good-looking little chestnut with three white feet; his shoulders are superior to what are seen in the generality of Arabs, and I’ve no doubt but that he could go faster than many of this particular breed. The third is also a chestnut, and thought not, in my opinion, so handsome as the grey, he has a large number of friends. Of course these horses have not yet quite recovered from the effects of their voyage, but when they do they will present a far different appearance to what they do now.”

The Avoca Mail (Vic.) 12 September 1876
Hood & Co.’s Sheep-Dipping Composition. Price One Shilling Per Pound. Important Testimonials include mention of the Messrs. Learmonth, late of Ercildoun, who used it extensively for many years and in their opinion “it improved the wool, both in texture and weight.” ALSO ON SALE – Strychnine, Sullphur, Soft Soap, Arsenic, Corrosive Sublimate, Saltpetre, Potashes, Down’s Farmers’ Friend the best dressing to Seed Wheat, Carbolic Acid, specially prepared for the cure of Foot-rot, Wound Stone, Disinfecting Powder, Epsom Salts, Horse Powders, Ball and Blisters, Carbolic Acid, Booth’s Fluke Specific, an Unfailing Remedy, Rock Salt, Annatto, for Butter and Cheese Colouring, Butter of Antimony, Kerosene, Florida Water, Eau de Cologne, Benzine, Chlorodyne, Quinine Wine, Sarsparilla.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 1 December 1876
Publications and Literature. The Yeoman Department of the Australasian of Saturday, December 2, contained a report on the Ercildoune Sheep at Skipton. The copy of the above publication dated January 27, also included a report regarding Ercildoun v. Tasmania.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 30 January 1877
Charitable Acknowledgements. The Treasurer of the CITY MISSION acknowledges receipt of £20, the gift of S. Livingstone Learmonth, Esq.

The Australasian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil (Melbourne) 17 March 1877.
Except. SIR WILLIAM GREGORY, the Governor of Ceylon, arrived in Melbourne by the P. and O. Co.’s mail steamer a few weeks ago. His Excellency came to Australia to spend a three months’ holiday. During his stay in Melbourne he was the guest of Sir George Bowen, at Government-house. Sir William was taken by his host to see the public institutions and the metropolis. Then followed a trip, by way of Ballarat, to Ercildoun, th estate of Sir Samuel Wilson, and to Woodlands, the residence of Mr. John Wilson. The excursion afforded His Excellency some brief glimpses of the pleasures of bush life in Australia…

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 26 May 1877
ERCLDOUN WOOL. TO THE EDITOR OF THE AUSTRALASIAN. Sir, I copy from your issue of the 5th May the above prices realized in the London sales of 27th February of this year by J. T. Simes and co., and think that you will agree with me that such prices ought to be disentombed from the mass figures you gave in that copy of The Australasian. When I first read in The Argus the telegraphic report that Ercildoun wool had gone up to 5s 0½d per lb., I held my breath in amazement, and feared there was a mistake somehow. I waited patiently for proof – for full account sales, and now we have them; now we are made aware that a bale of wool from this colony has reached the unprecedented, the unparalleled price of 5s 0½ d per lb. Let me further say that from my private advices, I am convinced the sale was bona fide – was genuine. That it was genuine let 35 bales at 3s. 10d. per lb. testify. True, as appeared in your “Rural Topics” of a week ago, the French were the eager purchasers for future exhibition purposes; they became wild with excitement, and the one bale was run up by fierce contending parties. Yet we have the fact that no other wool was so competed for – no other wool sold so highly. Once a single prize bale from the same flock was sold for 4s. 10½ d per lb., but here we have 18 bales of Ercildoun wool sold at 4s 1d., and above, in the regular course of the sales. What a pleasure it is to true lovers of our country to find that the flock which did such great things in the hands of the Messrs. Learmonth should now, under the care of Sir Samuel Wilson reach a higher stage, become more renowned. We may talk of what other flocks will do – shall and must do – but here we have wonderful work done. Here we have the prices actually realized. Other breeders of similar sheep have had wool sold above 4s. per lb., none have ever reached 4s. 4d., but here we have 4s. 6d. and 5s. 0½ d. As a breeder of Australian merino sheep, having no share, no interest of a pecuniary kind in the Ercildoun flock, but a deep interest in it from long association – as a rival breeder – allow me to take off my hat, bow and pay a tribute of respect to the proprietor of the Ercildoun flocks for proving to us – to the whole world – that the Australian merino wool commands the highest of all the high prices in the wool market of the world. THOMAS SHAW.

The Otago Witness (New Zealand) Issue 1367, 9 February 1878
SQUATTING IN RIVERINA. A traveller who has just returned from some of the block country informs us that the want of feed and water in the district is something really appalling. On one station, Groongal, the property of the Messrs. Learmonth, where last year 170,000 sheep were put through the shearing sheds, this season there have been but 76,000, showing a deficit of just 100,000. Go where you will, adds our informant, the blanched skeletons of sheep glisten under the hot sun, while for miles and miles over the plains the stench proceeding from decaying carcasses tells a hideous tale. Station hacks are luxuries now almost unknown in the country described. Horses have been turned loose to fossick up a living as best as they can, and the best of these are scarcely strong enough to carry a saddle, to say nothing of a man in it. The Messrs Learmonth are said to have nearly a hundred hands employed in falling timber, in order to give their stock what nourishment the leaves afford. Such a season has not been experienced for something like twenty years. – Stawell Chronicle.

The Ripon Shire Advocate, 6 April 1878, The South Australia Advertiser, 8 April 1878, The Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA) 10 April 1878, The Advocate (Melb) 13 April 1878.
Ercildoun. A curious phenomenon has been observed at the Salmon Ponds at Ercildoun. The ponds have been placed near a spring of bright clear water coming out of the side of a volcanic hill called The Cardinal, far up a narrow, rocky picturesque gorge named Rhymer’s Glen. This spring when first observed was found to have a never-ending temperature of 53°F, and this low temperature influenced the choice of this spot for the piscicultural experiments which have been so successful. Some time after the hatching boxes were erected it was noticed (says the Argus) that the temperature of the spring had risen 1-2 degrees, but it was then thought to be owing to the influence of the summer heat. However the water continued to get warmer until the temperature has now risen to 62°F, while the water in the creek close by is only 55-57°F, although the latter is exposed to the sun and air. It is believed the increase in temperature is due to volcanic action in the interior of the hill – which has a well defined crater on its summit, and may possible indicate an approaching period of volcanic activity in a tract of country which shows very marked traces of having been at one time the theatre of extensive volcanic disturbances.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 25 May 1878
DEATHS. LEARMONTH – On the 30th March, at 45 Gloucester gardens, Hyde-park, London, Louisa, the beloved wife of T. Livingstone Learmonth, formerly of Ercildoun, near Ballarat.

MISCELLANY. Three hundred Ercildoune rams and a thousand maiden ewes are now travelling up the Riverina for Oondooroo. They are from Groongal, Messrs. Learmonth’s station on the Murrumbidgee.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 5 October 1878
TOWN NEWS. Letters have been received by the San Francisco mail, we regret to learn, announcing that Mr. Somerville Learmonth died in London on the 4th August. Mr. Learmonth was an old and respected colonist whose liberality will be long remembered. He was a member of the firm of T. and S. Learmonth, who owned Ercildoun Station, near Ballarat, which they sold some years ago to Sir Samuel Wilson. They were also the proprietors of the Egerton mine, which formed the subject of an equity suit, which excited considerable notice a year or two ago. They were besides largely interested in squatting properties in Riverina. Mr. Somerville Learmonth went to England shortly after the conclusion of the mining suit.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 10 October 1878
DEATHS. LIVINGSTONE LEARMONTH. At London, on the 4th August, Mr Somerville Livingstone Learmonth, formerly of Ercildoun, deeply regretted.

Somerville Livingstone Learmonth’s death was reported in many papers including The Argus, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Border Watch, The Wagga Wagga Advertiser and Riverine Reporter, The Weekly Examiner, The Bacchus Marsh Express, The Australian Town and Country Journal, The Mount Alexander Mail and The Clarence Examiner & Richmond Advertiser New England.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 19 Oct0ber 1878
THE ERCILDOUNE FLOCK. Excerpts – The history of the Ercildoune flocks is one that would required longer space than can be here given to it. A historical interest attaches to this celebrated breed of merino sheep, which goes back to the earliest days of the colony. In 1837, when the district was first seen by white men, the Messrs. Learmonth, starting from Mount Aitken to explore the country went by way of Mount Alexander, and followed the Loddon, making for the remarkable peak that they afterwards named Ercildoun… The establishing of annual sales of sheep in Melbourne somewhat interfered with the old supremacy of this flock at Skipton, as the owner objected strongly to artificial feeding of sheep for show or sale ; but finding that judges and buyers gave prizes and high prices to highly-fed sheep, and neglected those that were only grass-fed, he gave additional care to the condition of the sheep offered, with the best resuls, as the high prices obtained at the late sales amply testify. The prices given for Ercildoune rams of late years have far exceeded those of former times, when the maximum price was £100, whereas the present owner has sold many at prices ranging from 100 to 300 guineas each.

The Tribune (Hobart, Tas.) 21 October 1878
VICTORIAN NOTES. Some 12 years ago Mr. Thomas Learmonth, of Ercildoune, when attending an agricultural society dinner here, took occasion, in responding to a toast, to speak of the great acquisition to agriculture of a reaping and binding machine, and said he would be glad to give £20 towards a fund to secure such an invention. Nothing more was heard of the offer till yesterday, when Mr. Morrison, the secretary of the Ballarat Agricultural Society, received a letter by the mail from Mr. Thomas Learmonth, in Scotland, expressing his pleasure at noticing the reported progress made by the society, and especially at observing that the reaper and binder was a success, and enclosing a draft for £20 in fulfillment of the promise he had made 12 years before.

The Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser (Toowoomba, Qld.) 2 November 1878
CUTTINGS. THE ERCILDOUNE FLOCK. You will find in the Argus of yesterday a very interesting account of the Ercildoune flock. Sir Samuel Wilson purchased the estate from the Messrs. Learmonth five years ago. Within that time the yearly clip has risen in value from £12,413 to £16,264, and the value of the wool from 3s 3½d per lb. to 4s 9½d per lb. Last year it brought 5s 0½d per lb. Here be your pastoral princes, with their multitudinous flocks of pure merinos. Melbourne Correspondent Courier.

The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW) 11 January 1879
Sales of Stock in Victoria. From the Age – Colac Sales. Excerpt -Mr. Gibson, of Messrs. Fisken and Gibson, also offered some Herefords from Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth’s estate at Ercildoun, but there were no buyers, the breed being evidently out of favour. Notwithstanding the bad prices, the vendors viewed the matter in a most cheerful manner, and were evidently determined to keep the faith with the public. There was no reserve, and every beast offered was knocked down to the highest bidder.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 15 February 1879
MESSRS. HASTINGS CUNINGHAM AND CO.’S WOOL SHOW. Excerpt – The 50 ewes’ fleeces shown by Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, of Groongal, Hay, N. S.W., show what rapid advances are being made by the stockowners in Riverina. This wool shows an average value of 8s. 1½d. per fleece. The entry show that the sheep from which it was taken are bred from the Old Ercildoune stud flock. The merino wethers’ wool shown by Mr. John Wilson, of Gala, has attracted much attention as high-class wool. The exhibition will be kept open till Wednesday next, when all the samples sent in for competition will be sold by public auction.

The Leader (Melbourne, Vic.) 9 August 1879
UNDER THE VERANDAH. At the Deniliquin Pastoral Show Sir Samuel Wilson was disqualified from being a prize taker because the wool he exhibited was not of one year’s growth but of two. Sir Samuel, it is true, is in England, but his manager would, I scarcely think, have dared to have done this unless he had been acting under higher instructions. I remember some time ago Sir Samuel was asked through the columns of a newspaper what means he had employed to breed such fine stock at Ercildoun. Now Ercildoun had not been very long in his possession, and any credit as to the breed of the sheep was due to the former owner, Mr. Learmonth. Sir Samuel, however, in a letter appropriated the compliment paid to himself, and answered the question. He said that a celebrated painter was once asked how he contrived to mix his colors with such brilliant effect, and that his answer was, “With brains, sir!” Now Sir Samuel Wilson has obtained many prizes for wool, and it becomes a question if the tactics employed at Deniliquin were resorted to on other former occasions. He may look upon this sort of thing as evidence of “brains,” but I think honest men will put a different interpretation upon it. I suppose, when Sir Samuel took the sole credit for introducing Californian salmon into Australian waters, until the tardy acknowledgement was forced from him that a New Zealand gentleman who supplied him gratuitously with ova was entitled really to more praise than himself, that this was also an evidence of the possession of “brains.”

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 15 October 1878; 23 October 1879
THE ERCILDOUNE FLOCKS article…

The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 13 November 1878
INTERCOLONIAL NEWS IN BRIEF. Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, of Groongal, have sold to Mr. A. G. Jones 128 two-tooth Ercildoune rams.

The Burrowa News (NSW) 13 August 1880
MERINO SHEEP BREEDING. AGRICULTURAL REPORTER OF THE MELBOURNE LEADER. NO. IV – CARNGHAM. The hon. Phillip Russell’s Carngham flock of pure merinos has for many years been distinguished for the fine quality of its wool, and the high average price, which it has maintained in the London market. About the year 1848 Mr. Thomas Shaw, senior, wrote a pamphlet upon the growing of fine merino wool, which had the effect of directing the attention of Messrs. Learmonth, Russell, and other early flockowners to the subject, with the result that Mr. Shaw was commissioned by the Messrs. Learmonth to proceed to Tasmania and select a number of the best sheep to be found in that colony. The sheep thus selected formed the foundation of the Ercildoune flock, and it has been the same blood that Mr. Russell has depended upon to raise his sheep to their present standard. Beginning about the year 1850 with Ercildoune sheep, careful selection was continued by Mr. Russell until 1860, when Mr. Jonathan Shaw was entrusted with the annual classification of the flocks. From 1860 until the present Mr. Shaw has continued to class the sheep, and from the foundation of the stud flock in 1850 until 1868 the Ercildoune blood was adhered to. At the latter date the flock had become so well established that it was not necessary any longer to depend upon Ercildoune for stud rams, and a system of breeding solely from Carngham sheep was commenced, which has been continued up to the present time. It will be seen therefore that the success, which has been attained at Carngham is to be attributed to careful and wise selection working exclusively with one pure breed.

The Burrowa News (NSW) 3 September 1880
MERINO SHEEP BREEDING. (AGRICULTURAL REPORTER OF THE MELBOURNE LEADER.) NO. VI. ERCILDOUNE. Excerpts -Sir Samuel Wilson’s celebrated Ercildoune flocks of pure merino sheep are so generally acknowledged to be of the highest order of merit that many leading breeders in the colony claim no higher praise for their stock than direct descent from the Ercildoune sheep. The Messrs. Learmonth, who originally took up the country north of Lake Burrumbeet in 1838, stocked it with a flock of very superior Tasmanian merinos, and the improvement, which the soil and climate brought about in these sheep, induced the proprietors to purchase a flock of pure pedigree soon afterwards. This pure flock, which was the foundation of the present Ercildoune stud, descended directly from the German branch of the merino family. At the time when the Spanish merino breed was so jealously guarded that the exportation of sheep from the country was a capital offence, the Elector of Saxony obtained a draught from the best flock in the kingdom as a great favour from the King of Spain. The late Mr. Forlonge obtained a portion of this celebrated Electoral flock, which was afterwards brought by Mrs. Forlonge and her sons to Tasmania. The sheep afterwards passed into the hands of Mr. (now Sir) William Mitchell, who brought them to Victoria, taking them to his Barford station near Kyneton. At a comparatively high price the Messrs. Learmonth obtained the flock from Mr. Mitchell and commenced the system of careful breeding which has produced such satisfactory.

Purity of blood is essential to successful breeding. Working with a pure breed it is possible to improve by successive steps in any required direction, but with a mixed strain the object of the breeder may be entirely defeated even after a long series of successes. The Messrs. Learmonth adhered strictly to the pure merino but reinvigorated the original stock on several occasions by judicious selections from well-known stud flocks. The most important of these additions to the flock were a few rams from Captain McCarthur’s famous Camden rams and some sheep from Mr. Kermode’s Mona Vale flock, the last named stock having been used with considerable advantage in 1862. Since that date no fresh blood has been introduced, but the stud flocks have been so numerous, and have contained so many elements of the different types of pure merino, that selection has been effectively carried on without close in-breeding. It will be seen from the above particulars that Ercildoune flocks contain pure blood from both of the great branches of the merino family, the Tasmanian sheep representing the German branch, and the Camden flock being bred from the Royal Hampton Court flock, which George III obtained from the King of Spain. Having the heavy dense fine fleece of the German merino, and the long bright staple of the Spanish, it only wanted skillful manipulation and a Victorian climate to produce the finest sheep in the world, and these elements of success were fully supplied by the management and climate of Ercildoune.

The Messrs. Learmonth for many years had the advantage of the skillful assistance of Mr. Thos. Shaw, Sen, and afterwards of his son, Mr. Jonathan Shaw, who continues up to the present his annual selections and classification of the sheep for Sir Samuel Wilson, the present owner. Breeding for fineness and length of wool is apt to result in bare points and a light fleece; and aiming at density and well clothed points has a tendency to produce shortness of staple, while the merino frame, if not attended to, becomes small and ill-shaped. But the foundation of the Ercildoune flocks has happily been supplied with ample material for guarding against all such undesirable results, and a type of sheep has been produced combining the good qualities of the merino in proper proportion.
The Ercildoune sheep has a large symmetrical and well-clothed frame, while the wool is exceedingly fine, of long clear staple and pure white lustre. That weight of fleece has been well combined with quality of wool may be judged from the fact that the clip has more than once averaged 10s per sheep exclusive of lambs, and that in 1877, although half of the grown sheep were lambing ewes, the average of sheep and lambs together was 7s. 9½ d. As high an average weight as 3lb. 12oz. of spout washed wool has been obtained from the Ercildoune sheep…

The sheep are divided into four distinct flocks, each showing certain characteristics in a more marked degree than the others. Thus one flock is remarkable for density, another for quality, a third for length and a fourth for lustre. These different flocks are classified into from 3 to 5 subdivisions, according to merit, under such distinctive names as First Special, Second Special and Stud. By an ingenious system of ear-marking, which is described in Sir Samuel Wilson’s book upon the Angora goat, the breeding of each sheep can be accurately ascertained, the pedigree being marked upon the ear…
Eliza Forlonge (1784-1859)

(*Another ‘Out of Adversity’ story – a woman forced to find a healthier climate for her remaining children ends up creating another important chapter in Australian history.)

Excerpts from The Australian Women Fact File. In the era when history recorded the deed of men rather than women, Eliza Forlonge was one of the unsung heroes of the Australian Wool Industry. Much as been written about Elizabeth Macarthur, but her contribution to the industry is easily rivaled by that of Eliza. Without her vision, courage and grit, it is doubtful that Australia would have become the world’s leading producer of high-quality apparel wool. In 1934, the Country Women’s Association of Victoria erected a granite monument, the exact size and shape of a bale of wool, over her grave at Euroa. In 1940, the CWA of Tasmania erected a sundial in memory of Eliza at Kenilworth. There was also a large mural at the School of Rural Studies (now TAFE) in Sydney, depicting her paying gold sovereigns for the sheep. In recognition of Eliza’s vision in pioneering superfine wool merinos in Australia, The Wool Foundation Eliza Forlonge Medal, was established in 1991. The medal is awarded in recognition of outstanding individual contribution to the Australian Wool Industry.

Mrs. Eliza Forlonge was truly an amazing woman. Having lost four of her six children to tuberculosis and with another son showing early signs of the disease, the family decided to emigrate to Australia, for its dry and sunny climate. At that time, wool growing appeared to be the only thing Australia was good for, so she decided that she would go into the business of growing wool. Their enterprise was financed by John’s sister, Janet Templeton, and her husband Andrew, a successful Glasgow banker, and supported by Sir Thomas Brisbane, recently returned Governor of New South Wales. With introductions to leading woolgrowers and brokers, she and her two sons spent the next three summers in Leipzig, the centre of the European wool industry, learning the language, and every aspect of the business of growing wool. John joined his family in 1828 and lived with shepherds in order to learn the necessary husbandry. William was employed for three years in a leading sorting house to learn wool classing. Andrew attended school, and accompanied his mother, whilst Eliza visited stud, inspected flocks, and learned to select the finest sheep, and she bargained hard for her prizes. She paid for the sheep with gold sovereigns, which she carried in a bag under her skirts. She paid up to £30 for each sheep and, to avoid substitution, she padlocked a special brass collar around their necks once she had purchased them. To succeed, she had to overcome the hostility of the Saxons, who were loath to part with either their knowledge or their sheep. Saxony at that time was a rough, mountainous land of isolated villages and medieval walled towns, with roads so bad, that many of the farms were accessible only on foot, and villagers highly suspicious of foreigners, which made it impossible to hire shepherds. To collect her sheep from around the country, Eliza and the boys, disguised as peasants and travelled some 500 miles on foot until they reached Hamburg, from where the flock was shipped to Hull in England. They then walked the sheep across to Liverpool to ship the flock to Greenock in Scotland. During the three journeys, she made around Germany, and one into France, buying up the finest sheep she could find, walking some 1500 miles on foot, sometimes with her son, sometimes on her own, staying in squalid inns and dealing with suspicious and obstructive officials. It was an incredible feat performed by a remarkable woman. The first flock of 100 Merinos, was purchased by the Australian Agricultural Company. More sheep now had to be collected for William to take to New South Wales, so Eliza returned to Saxony, where she was able to buy even better quality sheep, now that the legend of the eccentric Scotswoman, who roamed the country paying gold for stud sheep had spread. William left on the Clansman in 1829 with his flock. However, when the ship called in at Hobart Town, Governor Arthur, recognizing the value of his sheep, offered William a maximum grant of land to remain in Van Diemen’s Land. The sheep were immediately in high demand, and William was soon writing home glowing letters of the prospects in the Colony, urging his parents and Andrew to join him. Meanwhile, Andrew Templeton had died in Glasgow and his widow, Janet, decided to settle in New South Wales for her sons’ future. In 1831, she chartered a ship, the Czar, to take her family and the Forlonges with their servants, household goods and a third flock of sheep, collected by Eliza, to Australia. The Forlonges joined William in Van Dieman’s Land where John was given a maximum land grant next to his sons’, which was known as Kenilworth. Eliza managed Kenilworth, while John was involved in various business ventures, until his death in 1834. However, with no access to permanent water, farming was often difficult and, in 1839, when the fertile plains of Port Phillip were opening up, William and Andrew decided to leave, while Eliza continued to mange their affairs in Tasmania. In 1840, Eliza made another trip to the United Kingdom to arrange passage for 200-300 bounty emigrants to help alleviate the shortage of labour caused by the cessation of transportation to the Colony. In 1844, she severed her ties with Tasmania, and joined William and his family in Victoria at Woodstock, Merri Creek, near Bendigo. They survived the Great Wool Depression of the 1840’s and, in 1851, she moved to Seven Creeks, which she managed for William who was frequently away on business, or in England, where his family was being education. At Seven Creeks, she continued to build up the superfine wool industry so that, when she died in 1859, she was one of the best-known women in the colony.

(* In 1836, during his “Australia Felix” expedition, Major Mitchell camped on the banks of the Seven Creeks at Euroa, a lovely old historical town.)

The Australian Dictionary of Biography states that William Howitt described her as ‘one of the pleasantest and most energetic ladies I have ever met with’ and further states that ‘Eliza’s pioneering skills were outstanding, it was her ability to select sheep that was special. David Taylor, of Winton, and T. and S. Learmonth of Ercildoun(e), Victoria, founded their studs on the Forlonge’s Saxon merinos, which were greatly sought after by breeders of fine-woolled sheep.’

The Herald (Fremantle, WA) 19 March 1881.
We hear that Mr. Learmonth intends to at once stock the runs he has on the Fitzroy. Mr. Learmonth is one of the wealthiest of the Victorian squatters, and at one time had an interest in the famous Ercildoun estate, the finest station in Victoria, which was sold a few years ago to Sir Samuel Wilson by his brother the late Mr. Somerville Learmonth. We are fortunate in getting such settlers to assist in developing the resources of the distant portions of our large colony.

The Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA) 20 February 1882
SALE OF LARGE STATION PROPERTY. – The Australasian of February 18 reports the following: – “Information has been received in Melbourne to the effect that Messrs. T. & S. Learmonth have sold their Groongal estate in Riverina, with the stock thereon, to an English Company for the sum of £700,000 cash. The Groongal estate is considered by the most experienced sheepfarmers in the country as one of the very finest estates in Australia. It has an area of 320,000 acres of freehold land and about 200,000 sheep are shown annually. The wool is of very high quality, the sheep being descended from the famous Ercildoune flock. There is on the estate a stud flock of pure Merino sheep, the originals of which were selected from the Ercildoune stud flock in 1867, before Messrs. T. & S. Learmonth sold their Ercildoune estate and stud flock to Sir Samuel Wilson. Groongal is situated on the Murrumbidgee, about forty miles above Hay.”

The Australian Town and Country Journal (NSW) 15 April 1882
ADVERTISEMENT. THE BURRABOGIE ESTATE. LONDON, April 9. – The “Times,” commenting upon the sale of the Burrabogie estate, says that it affords a splendid opportunity in Australia for English gentry seeking cheap and, with health and occupation.

The Riverine Grazier (Hay, NSW) 19 April 1882
AUSTRALIAN SHEEP STATIONS versus EGYPTIAN OR RUSSIAN BONDS? Detailed Article questioning whether investing in these properties, (as advertised in London according to The Australian Town and Country Journal, 15/4/1882 above), upon the whole, would prove to be a paying one, with Burrabogie recently selling for the very large sum of £440,000. It also stated that Groongal being valued at £750,000, along with Burrabogie, are the two most valuable single properties in Australia. – Federal Australian.

The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 25 April 1883
OUR PURE MERINO STUD FLOCKS. III. THE YANDILLA FLOCK. Excerpt – As Mr. Shaw’s mode of operations at Yandilla was precisely the same as that so successfully practiced by him in the Ercildoune flock, it may be well to devote a few sentences here to its description. Mr. Shaw’s theory was, in effect, complete cessation from importation of foreign blood, resorting solely for improvement to selection within the blood of the flock. By these means, he argued, a purely Australian type of merino would result, varying only in different parts of the Australian continent by differences of temperature and climate. Acting on Mr. Shaw’s suggestion, Messrs. Learmonth got together with the best sheep procurable in their district, and on these Mr. Shaw set to work in 1837. By careful selection, aided by sound judgment and the effects of climate, the Ercildoune flock was by this means bred up to the magnificent type of fine combing wool which has made it celebrated throughout the world, and which enabled its original owners to retire on a princely fortune.

The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.) 5 May 1883
The Yandilla Flock. Excerpt from Mr. C. A. Forster’s letter: –
“I think it must have been later than 1837 that the Messrs. Learmonth pitched their tents in the centre of what is now called Lake Learmonth, then dry. If I do not mistake, the late Dr. Learmonth’s flocks, bred originally from the Macarthur merinos, at that time (1837) adorned the bonnie braes of Tasmania, near the Green Ponds, from whence they were transported to the breezy plains of the now far-famed Ercildoune.”

The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.) 19 May 1883
Our Pure Merino Stud Flocks VI. THE JIMBOUR FLOCK. Excerpt – The other, and by far the larger, section of the stud flock was bred, as has already been stated, from the progeny of Ercildoune rams, and may be described as from one-fourth to one-sixth grade Learmonth blood. It was the Ercildoune sheep that imparted the great lustre to the flock; but, like Mr. Clark, Mr. Wallace found that they not only lacked density, but were poorly covered on the points. These defects were counteracted by carefully breeding back to the original Jimbour sheep. The staple has slightly gained in strength of late years. Whether this is due more to pasturage than to careful selection it may be difficult to decide, probably to both causes.

The West Australian (Perth, WA) 5 June 1883
FARM AND STATION. The Stud Flocks of Tasmania. THE MONA-VALE MERINOES. Excerpt – In 1872 the executors of the late Mr. R. Q. Kermode sold off all the sheep on the estate including the pure flock, when the ewes realized an average of two guineas per head, but many were sold at a considerable profit afterwards. Mr. W. A. Kermode, the present proprietor of Mona-vale, and eldest son of the late Mr. R. Q. Kermode, bought nearly all the stud sheep, bred from the late German importations being dispersed. As the taste of sheepbreeders was then running on a long-stapled wool, he purchased from Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, of Ercildoune, Victoria, a stud ram, which was considered by those gentlemen to be one of the finest animals in their stud flock. This was not considered any change of blood, for about a dozen years previously 100 ewes from the Mona-vale stud had been introduced into the Ercildoune stud. Of these ewes Mr. T. Learmonth writes – “I consider the addition of these 100 ewes more valuable to the Ercildoune flock than would be the best 100 that could be obtained from Germany.”

The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW) 11 April 1885
THE AUSTRALASIAN MUTUAL LIVE STOCK SOCIETY, LIMITED. CAPITAL £100,000. HEAD OFFICE, MELBOURNE. Sydney Branch: ROYLE’S CHAMBERS, Bond-street. VICTORIAN DIRECTORS: John L. Dow, Esq., M.P., Chairman, Hon. J. F. Levien, M.P., Thomas Learmonth, Esq. NEW SOUTH WALES DIRECTORS: Andrew Town, Esq., J.P., Frank Cowley, Esq., George S. Yeo, Esq. Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, and Dogs Insured against death from accident, disease, or natural causes on land, rail, or at sea. Marine Risks on Stock Covering Mortality or on Merchandise accepted. The only Live Stock Insurance Society in the colonies. Full Particulars can be obtained from the undersigned. Active Agents Wanted where unrepresented. A. J. WILKINSON, Manager.

The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW) 28 November 1885
The Fountain Head of Australian Herefords. (Queenslander Nov. 21) Excerpts – There are very few if any Australian Hereford herds that do not trace back either directly or indirectly to the Cressy Hereford herd of Tasmania. As this breed of cattle is coming so rapidly to the front, particularly in our coast districts, a brief history of that herd will be of interest to many. Unfortunately the work of compiling a public herd book had not been undertaken until the Cressy herd had almost ceased to exist ; and, more unfortunate still, the Cressy herd book, which was so carefully kept by the late Mr. James Denton Toosey, has been lost – a circumstance which has rendered the work of tracing the pedigrees of the herd one of considerable difficulty. Fortunately, however, Mr. A. J. McConnel, of Durundur, a gentleman who is well posted up in Hereford lore, is in possession of a number of letters written by the late Mr. Toosey a short time before his death, and these, which have been kindly placed at our disposal, throw considerable light on the origin and history of the herd. The Cressy Company’s herd was founded by the late Mr. Toosey, who brought with him from England a bull and three cows. They left England in November 1825, and were landed in Hobart Town in May 1826, and were thus the first Herefords that arrived in the Australian colonies. Mr. Toosey had a number of other cattle and horses in his charge by the same ship. The bull’s name was Billy, entered in the English Hereford Herd Book No. 4353. The cows were Matchless, Beauty, and one unnamed (the dam of Diana). The pedigrees of the cattle have been lost, but Mr. Toosey states that they were purchased at a high figure from one of the first breeders in Herefordshire, and that he bred some of his best stock from them, bulls in the early days bringing from 80 to 100 guineas.

Some of his principal sales were the following: Mr. Livingstone Learmonth, of Groongal, many years ago purchased a number of heifers, and mating them with English bulls, formed a very fine herd. The cattle there, as seen by a well-known Queensland Hereford breeder a few years ago, were very large and thick. A number of females from this herd were exported to found a herd in New Zealand.

Mr. Toosey, as already stated, kept a record of his breed up to the time of his death, but since then his son states that the herd books are not to be found, and must have been destroyed. This is very much to be regretted, as a detailed record of the earlier cattle of the foundation herd of Australia – a herd, the blood of which is to be found in every herd in Queensland, and perhaps every Hereford herd south of the equator – has probably disappeared for all time. The loss is all the more to be deplored that arrangements have almost been completed for compiling a reliable Hereford Herd Book for the whole of the colonies.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 27 March 1886
A Visit to Ercildoune. By Bruel. Excerpts – It has become evident to all flockmasters during the last few years that the production of low-class wools in Austraia has almost ceased to be a profitable industry, and that if Australia is to keep her pre-eminence as a wool-producing country it can only be done by growing wool of such high quality as to render competition on the part of South America out of the question. The prospect for wool-growers of late has been anything but a pleasant one, but a change for the better is shown in the sale in England lately of the Mount Bute and Ercildoune wools, which have realized prices that would have been regarded as exceptionally high when the wool-producing interest was in a flourishing condition… as I had not seen the Ercildoune estate for many years I willingly accepted the invitation of Mr. A. Fisken, the representative of Sir Samuel Wilson, to pay a visit to the place, and have a look at the sheep. On leaving the railway station at Burrumbeet, I found the country had already assumed a wintry aspect. The pastures in the paddocks we drove through were rather short for this time of year, and the autumn rains had evidently been very scanty, for there was but little spring in the grass. I notice that one of our horses was very bad with stringhalt, and on inquiry I found that this affliction is very common in the district this season. The country traversed between Burrumbeet and Ercildoune-house is across the most fertile land on the estate. The soil is a light clay with numerous pebbles of glossy ironstone on the surface. It is thoroughly healthy grazing country but will not carry more than a sheep the acre… A hurricane had passed across here lately, and its track is marked by the withering foiage of the wrecked trees. From a cross-country road a gate gives access to an avenue of about a mile in length, which is planted wit Deodar cedars and pinus insignis alternately. The house was built by Messrs. Learmonth many years ago, and like many old Australian houses, it is of the patchwork order of architecture. However, a fine growth of ivy on the walls hides many deficiencies. The house has its merit, it will accommodate a large number of visitors. The great attraction of Ercildoune-house is the splendid group of trees by which it is surrounded. Oriental planes, Deodar cedars, larches, Lombardy poplars, and agreat variey of pines are growing here most lucuriantly. Whichever way one turns the eye rests on glorious masses of foliage. In the centre is a good-sized lagoon, surround by giant weeping willows and having in it little islets on which are many fine foliage plants. Throughout the plantation, which is almost a wood, there are broad well-kept walks leading in every direction. I cannot imagine anything more enjoyable than a summer day’s sheer indolence, loitering in the almost “boundless contiguity of shade.:

The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 13 September 1886
CHANGES OF FASHION IN WOOL-GROWING. BY JUMBUCK. Last paragraph – “I cannot therefore but think that we hear too much in these colonies of distinctions such as Saxon, Negretti, &c. The Merino when bred pure appears to have maintained its characteristics in all the countries to which it has been transplanted, and when absolute purity of blood can be secured, along with the other conditions desired, it would appear unnecessary to attach so much importance as is frequently done in these colonies to the different European flocks of the Merino family. The type of the sheep is no doubt greatly modified by the skill of the breeder and by the circumstances under which it is kept and fed; but many of the very best flocks in Australia, notably some of the best in Riverina, have had their beginning in selections from many sub-families of the great Merino family, and it is very questionable whether a single sheep in Australia can trace back in unbroken descent to any one in particular of the original Spanish Cabaafis.” – Queenslander.

The Camperdown Chronicle (Vic.) 24 November 1886
A Visit to Wooriwyrite No. II. Excerpts – “Of the old flock, Mr. Thos. Learmonth, writing to Mr. T. Shaw in 1863, makes the following remarks: “We never had the least admixture of foreign blood of the English breeds. From the time your father (Mr. Thomas Shaw) took the management of our breeding, a marked improvement took place, partly by judicious selection, and partly the use of rams from the flock of Mr. Kermode, Tasmania, and from that of Mr. Wm. Campbell, of Mount Hope. The last of these sheep passed into your hands and those of Mr. A. Anderson, of Skipton, in 1859.”

Rams from the famous old flock bred by the late Mr. Thomas Henty, were also used at Ercildoune.

The Picturesque Atlas of Australia, 1887, commissions artist Albert H. Fullwood to do a hand water-coloured woodblock engraving called “Ercildoune Sheep Station, Victoria, 1887. This rare original work features a sweeping view of the internationally famous Ercildoune Sheep Station with the imposing granite homestead in the distance. The Western District, Victoria, property, near Lake Burrumbeet, was the envy of the wool industry in the 1800’s with Ercildoune regarded as one of the most important sheep stations in Colonial Austrlia. Wool produced at Ercildoune in 1886, grown by Sir Samuel Wilson, was sold in London for the highest price ever paid for super-fine wool. It was described as “the silkiest in the world”. It put Ercildoune station on the map as the producer of the world’s finest wool, with buyers from London and Europe becoming regular visitors to the property.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 13 April 1889
The American Wool Reporter of February gives an account of a flock of sheep of a character profitable enough to make an Australian squatter’s mouth water. The owner of this flock is Mr. A. A. Wood, of Saline, Washtenaw County, Michigan, who is described as a well-known breeder of merino sheep for the Western States and for Australia. This fortunate man had just received his returns over his last season’s clip of wool, which had bee sold in Boston. The fleeces averaged 14½ lb., and netted 10½ d. per lb., which was an advance of 3½ d. on what he had been offered in June last. The wool was of extra fine quality, but very heavy. The staple was extra long. 14½ lb. of wool at 10½ d. per lb. give a fleece value of 12s. 8¼ d. per head, and this not for a few picked fleeces, but for the flock. When we reflect, however, that about 5d. per lb. – or in this case 6s. per sheep – of this price represents the annual toll paid by the American people to the domestic woolgrowers, we can hardly wonder at the latter being such vehement advocates of protection.

From the letter of the London correspondence of the American Wool Reporter we obtain some interesting items regarding the London sales. It seems that a Bradford house secured the bulk of our very choice Western district washed fleece wools, paying 50½ d. for the Ercildoune washed hoggets’. This wool is described as being very silky, but perhaps not quite so fine as others that might be named. Its great charm, however, is its beautiful lustrous nature, and being young wool it spins a very fine yard for quite a special purpose.

The Australian Town and Country Journal (NSW) 14 March 1891
HAY. The New Hospital – The building committee of the local hospital has been instructed to collate all possible information in connection with the project of building a new hospital, toward which there is present £2600 in hand. £1000 of this was the gift of Mr. Livingstone-Learmonth, and another £1000 a special Government grant.

The Nelson Evening Mail (New Zealand) 28 May 1892
THE FORTUNES OF A BALLARAT MINE. (Melbourne Age – A Famous Mine Story) Now that the famous Egerton mine has again come somewhat prominent under public notice in Ballarat and elsewhere, consequent on recent discoveries in the claim, a few particulars regarding its early history may not be uninteresting. One of the oldest settlers in the Gordon district relates that the claim was opened in 1854 as a quartz venture by a Scotchman named Jenkins. The shaft was marked out on the sheep run of a squatter named Egerton, after whom the claim was called, and the subsequent operations were remarkably successful. Work was carried on by several co-operative parties, by which Jenkins was the leader. Encouraged by the success of these small bands of diggers, Mr E. O. Witherden, J.P., now of Ballarat, and Mr H. Wyatt, of Buninyong, and eight others formed in February, 1855, a party of work what was known as the Crown Claim, and here also payable gold was obtained. In those days £7 per ton was paid for crushing, the owner of the wheel being Mr Lane, afterwards police magistrate in the Western district. At this period matters in Ballarat were lively, and the excitement following the rising at the Eureka stockade had extended to the Egerton district. Verne and Black, fleeing from the sleuth hounds of the law, sought refuge in the bush at Egerton, and they were given shelter by members of the party working the Egerton claim. The police got a clue to the whereabouts of Black, whose capture was prevented by Jenkins stating that it was a “case of mistaken identity,” as the person supposed to be the Eureka insurgent, Black, was his wife’s brother, a new arrival from the home country. In 1858 the rush at Gordon took place, and the Egerton claim, although still a paying concern, was, together with the other claims in the neighbourhood, deserted for the new field, which was named after the surveyor, Gordon. The Egerton ground, it should be added, was a prospecting claim, and had a frontage of 48 feet along the lode, which was discovered by Jenkins. When the rush to Gordon took place the Egerton claim was left in charge of two men, McLaren and Willis. Among the successful gold seekers of that time was Robert Evans, formerly a carter, who from his first crushing obtained a return of 27ozs to the ton. Evans was familiarly known as “Kangaroo Bob,” which soubriquet originated through his being the owner of a number of kangaroo dogs, which played great havoc among the sheep of the district settlers. “Kangaroo Bob” became a wealthy man in a very short space of time, and he then returned to Melbourne, and, it is stated, engaged extensively in the sport of horse racing, lost all his money, and was compelled by his adversity to retrace his steps to the goldfield, where he followed bullock driving as a means of livelihood. The excitement at Gordon having abated considerably, attention was again directed towards the working on Egerton’s run, and the Egerton tailings were taken up by Messrs W. Harrison, John Goode, Oliver Randell, Charles Terry and others, who worked with profit. The claim was afterwards worked. This party sold out their interest in the ground to Messrs Reid and Birrell. Then Reid bought out Birrell, and later on Reid sold the property to Mr. Learmonth for £7500. At this stage of the existence of the mine work was not profitable, as a slide came in from the north end, throwing the lode out to the east. Learmonth thereupon became disheartened, but on the advice of some friends he decided to expend a small sum of money in driving for the last lode. The search proved successful, and the lode on being regained yielded golden returns valued at about £100,000. Subsequently the stone again became poor, but Loughlin and party purchased the ground for £18,000, and were richly rewarded for their speculation as later events showed. Following on this purchase came the celebrated lawsuit, Learmouth v Bailey, in which a large sum of money was expended by the parties in the action. Nearly the whole of the legal talent of the colony was engaged in the case, the hearing of which occupied many months. The result is known: the suit was decided in favour of the defendant. The Egerton Company was registered under the act in 25,000 shares of £4 each. On the whole of the capital being called up in 1890, the company was reorganized, and has experienced the ups and downs of the mining world. The highest price paid for the shares has not exceeded £6, and at times since the registration of the company the scrip changed hands at 2s 6d, and other small prices. Up to the end of the last half year the gold obtained in the mine was valued as follows: – Company, £641,769; tributers, £67,220; and dividends amounting to £283,854 have been paid, and in wages and contracts the sum of £265,000; and the legal costs of the company total £24,371. The machinery and plant has entailed an outlay of £33,621, and on the lease and mine account £84,621, has been laid out. The tribute account totals £33,147, exclusive of value of mine. The assets in January last were estimated at £11,225. Excellent specimens of gold-bearing stone obtained recently in the mine were publicly exhibited a day or two ago, and were much admired, and it is hoped that the celebrated claim will be shortly again on the dividend paying list.

The Colac Herald (Vic.) 20 June 1893
Excerpt – “The rest of the community are already too heavily taxed, and it seems surprising that the wealthy landowners residing in other countries should so long have escaped the payment of a fair sum annually towards the expenses of the Government. Property owners require the greatest amount of protection, and yet they complain the loudest about taxaxtion which must be enforced to uphold their rights. Sir Samuel Wilson holds more land – to wit 95,872 acres – with one exception, than any other individual person in the colony, and the whole of the profitis arising from his rich pastoral estate…..indecipherable…..” “That the best of our lands should be held by so few people and allowed to remain practically unproductive is purely the fault of our land laws, and in order to raise a revenue sufficient for the purposes of government the land must be taxed according to its unimproved value”.

The Leader (Melbourne, Vic.) 8 July 1893
The Will of Late Mr. A. J. L. Learmonth.
Excerpt – The testator states in his will that he was accustomed to devote one-tenth of his income to charitable purposes, and, with that object kept a tithe account.

The Leader (Melbourne, Vic.) 10 February 1894
ERCILDOUNE. (By Our Agricultural Reporter.) Excerpt – In places a good deal of Yorkshire fog is to be seen, having been sown many years ago by the Messrs. Learmonth. This grass is not highly thought of by many, but Sir Samuel finds that it is an excellent fodder.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 10 March 1894
LIVINGSTONE-LEARMONTH – GILLESPIE. Excerpts – A very pretty wedding took place in the Kew Presbyterian Church on Thursday, March 8, between Miss Celia Gillespie, daughter of Mr. R. Gillespie, of Manono, Barry-street, Kew, and Mr. T. L. Livingstone-Learmonth, of Park-hall, Polmont, Stirlingshire, and formerly of Ercildoune station, Victoria… The best man was Mr. Frederick V. C. Livingstone-Learmonth. Their home will be Bringagee Station, N. S. W.

The Chronicle (Adelaide, SA) 18 January 1896
SHEEPBREEDING. Writing to the Australasian Pastoralists’ Review on “Sheepbreeding” Mr. Thos. Shaw says: Excerpt – …”We have booms in sheep-breeding – one year Ercildoune, then Larra, then Wanganella, then all Tasmania, then the loud-sounded fleece of Americans, with all its grease and nastiness. Such is life, Mr. Simpson! The breed I must go in for is the Chinese – three and four lambs at a birth – only imagine that. With these and a cross of something else I may some day meet Mr. Simpson on the tented field.”

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 11 March 1893
THE PICTORAL. COUNTRY HOMES: ERCILDOUNE. Excerpt – There is no rural estate within the wide bounds of Australia that is better known to the residents of these colonies and to a considerable number of Europeans and Americans than Ercildoune, the home of the famous flock of merinoes that for almost half a century has produced the finest and highest priced wool in the world. A trip to this estate is a matter of easy accomplishment now-a-days, but it was very different in the year 1837, when three adventurous pioneers, the Learmonth Brothers, set out from Mount Aitken to find a home in what was then the wild West. Very little was then known of the country beyond Buninyong and the blacks out that way had a bad name. Messrs. Learmonth travelled by way of Mount Alexander, which 15 years after gave its name to one of our great gold-fields (Castlemaine). They ran up the course of the Loddon, and making for a line of hills that jutted out towards the great Western plain, and formed part of the Dividing Range, they haled in a beautiful glade on the southern side. Here they took up a large squatting run. They gave the name of Ercildoune to their holding, that being the ancient home of “Thomas the Rhymer,” from whom they are believed to be descended. Even in its wild state Ercildoune home station was a beautiful spot, while stretching far and wide in every direction were the grand pastures of the Western district – one of the best sheep lands of Australia. The climate is an excellent one, the range of hills sheltering the place from the north wind of summer, while, the site being high above sea level, the nights are cool even in the hottest time in summer. When the freehold estate was formed, Messrs. Learmonth built the present house. In 1873 the state was purchased by Sir Samuel Wilson, now residing in England…

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 1 June 1893
DEATH OF AN OLD PIONEER. Mr. James Robertson, one of the earliest pioneers of Victoria, died suddenly at his residence, Mount Mitchell, on Sunday last. The deceased gentleman was born at Glen Muick, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the 18th May, 1818. In company with his father two brothers, and one sister he sailed for Victoria in the ship John Bull, which was then commanded by Captain Ormond, father of the late Mr. Francis Ormond, M.L.C. The passengers were by the means of a small boat landed at the foot of Batman’s Hill, Melbourne. Having determined to engage in pastoral pursuits, he inspected the Benalla and Broken River districts with that object in view. He was dissatisfied with the nature of the country, and next tried the Ballarat district, where he ultimately joined Messrs. Learmonth Bros., undertaking the supervision of a cattle station in the Ercildoune portion of the run. Lake Burrumbeet at that time was quite dry, and formed a portion of the grazing area. In 1848 he left the Learmonth Bros. and took up Mount Mitchell Station, which had been purchased some five years previously by his father and Mr. W. Skene, M.L.C. In 1854 he had an adventure with bushrangers, which excited a good deal of comment at that time. An attempt was made to stick up the Ercildoune Station, but the bushrangers were repulsed, and took refuge in the Mount Misery Ranges. Mr. Thomas Learmonth sought the assistance of Mr. Robertson and a trooper who was stationed at Lexton to dislodge them from their stronghold. This they accomplished successfully in a courageous manner, and also managed to capture one of the gang whom Mr. Robertson had covered with his gun. In 1856 Mr. Robertson was appointed a justice of the peace, and, while health permitted, for many years he devoted his time and attention to a strict and impartial performance of the duties. He had acquired considerable station property, and some years back, when he gave up active participation in public matters, he retired into private life, surrendering the management to his sons, who formed themselves into the well-known firm of Thomas Robertson and Bros. The principal stations owned by the firm are Mortat, Congbool, and Mount Mitchell in Victoria, and Gundabooka, in New South Wales. To those to whom he was well known the deceased gentleman had endeared himself by a kind and genial disposition. He leaves four sons and three daughters.

The Brisbane Courier (Qld.) 14 July 1893
REVIEW. HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF SHEEP FARMING. In this book, just issued by Messrs. Tilghman and Barnett, Sydney, Mr. Clarance McIvor has taken up what is virtually a new subject to him; and although he has given nothing, which is new or original on the subject, he has shown great aptitude for research, and has produced a valuable book of reference. In his preface Mr. McIvor does not lay claim to originality, his object being, as he states “to condense into a small compass the leading facts in connection with sheep farming from the earliest ages to the present time.”

Excerpt – In connection with the celebrated Ercildoune flock there is an unaccountable omission. Sir Samuel Wilson is given credit for having brought the clip of that flock into notoriety. It is a fact well known to all old colonists, that it was the Messrs. Learmonth, under the guidance of Mr. Shaw, who first established an Australian type of merino on Ercildoune, and at the time they sold the property the Ercildoune clip was the finest and highest priced clip in Australia. Throughout the work there are numerous well-executed illustrations of some of the most noted prizewinning sheep of recent years.

The Albury Banner and Wodonga Express (NSW) 2 October 1896
LITERATURE. AN OLD MERINO STUD. One of the objects I had in view in taking a run through what may be described as Central Riverina was to pay a visit to Mr. J. M. Sanger at Wongamong, and see something of one of the oldest stud flocks in this parts of Australia. Excerpt – ….His first sheep were 5,000 ewes purchased from Messrs. Jeffreys Bros., of Wantabadgery. These sheep were of the old Camden blood, but Mr. Sanger kept only a portion of them for his own breeding. Shortly afterwards he bought a small lot of large-framed ewes from a Mr. Bond, and for these he paid 16s per head. The first rams used by Mr. Sanger were drawn from the Ercildoune stud, then owned by Messrs. Learmonth. In 1863 Mr. Sanger bought 30 young rams from Messrs. Peppin, of Wanganella. These rams were by that famous old stud sire, Emperor, an imported Rambouilet ram. Mr. Sanger had a good opportunity of examining this sheep, and he describes him as the finest sheep he ever saw…

The Australian Town and Country Journal (NSW) 20 August 1898
Weddings. A pretty wedding took place at St. Jame’s Church on August 10 between Mr. Lestock L. Learmonth and Miss Marcia Cox, fourth daughter of Dr. James Cox.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 8 October 1898
THE WESTERN STUD FLOCKS. By Bruni. THE TERINALLUM ESTATE. The country now comprising the Terinallum Estate, was taken up as a squatting run in the early days of the colony, by Messrs. Land and Elms, who I believe, obtained their first sheep from Tasmania. In the year 1846 the Clyde Company purchased the run, and effected a deal of improvement in the flock by the use of rams bred in the Clyde Company’s stud at Golf Hill. The run was purchased by the late Mr. John Cumming in 1857, who, afterwards secured 47,000 acres of the sound, healthy sheep country that constitutes the present estate. Excerpt – HISTORY OF THE STUD FLOCK. The Terinallum merinoes were originally of Tasmania origin, and the Golf Hill stud, from which most of the rams were obtained while the Clyde Company owned the property, were derived from Tasmanian originals. The late Mr. John Cumming formed his stud flock in 1860, with a selection of the finest breeding ewes in the flock. With these he used eleven rams, obtained from Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth’s then famous Ercildoune stud. Writing to Mr. Cumming of these sheep, Mr. Thomas Learmonth said: – “All these rams save one that was not shown have taken one or more prizes, and the two old ones, to my fancy, are the finest rams I have.” Mr. Cumming afterwards used rams bred by Mr. J. L. Currie, whose stud was at that time held in high estimation by sheepbreeders throughout these colonies. Rams from the studs of Mr. T. Shaw and Mr. J. Bell were also used.

The Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic.) 8 October 1898
WITH SHOTTED CHARGE. “Nine members of the Burrumbeet and Ercildoune Sparrow Club tried conclusions for the Amberite Powder Trophy…

Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic.) 18 October 1895
Anecdotal Photograph. The Reverend John F. Macrae (In 1883, he married Miss Livingstone Learmonth, whose father was the eldest of the three brothers Learmonth, who owned the Ercildoun property, which they sold, some years ago, to the late Sir Samuel Wilson). Excerpts – Even in London, where an endless variety of preachers and styles of public oratory is concentrated, the “Scotch pulpit” takes a place in the best class. And here, in our limited community, the Presbyterian Church has had many men amongst its ministers eminent for their talent in the pulpit and for their general learning and literary attainments… The Rev. J. F. Macrae was born in the fifties in the beautiful Island of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, where his father was minister of the Free Church of Scotland. One Sunday, a gentleman appeared in the Church of the Martyrs at a time of the year when there were very few strangers. The result of his visit was that, then days later, Mr. Macrae was asked to go to Toorak! He accepted the offer, and in the end of June 1891, sailed for Melbourne in the ship Rimutaka, of the New Zealand Shipping Company. There were very few passengers on board. In the second class there was a broken down actor, with his wife and family, and at the Cape of Good Hope, the ship was joined by Mr. D. J. Fowler, of Adelaide. When Mr. Macrae arrived in Melbourne, the Land Boom had burst, and people were beginning to look very grave; and it can be safely said that no religious congregation has felt the financial depression more than the Scotch Church at Toorak. A great many prosperous Scotch families had settled in Toorak, and in consequence of the depression, these have nearly all been removed. Mr. Macrae has, however, stated, on many occasions, that no minister in the colony has had less reason to complain of the treatment he has received from his congregation than he. The congregation has stood by him most loyally, and in proportion to their means; give more liberally than ever they did for the maintenance of the church. Of course, the position and influence of a minister are very different here from what they are at home. Over an old gateway at St. Andrew’s, there is a device, which is symbolic of the church’s influence in Scotland. In the centre, is a king on horseback. On his left, is a knight representing the nobility. But on his right, close to his elbow, is a mitred bishop. The influence of the church in Scotland has to be taken into account by politicians. It is the dominant force in Scottish life, and must be reckoned with. Here, of course, it is quite different. The office of a minister, apart from his own character, gain him (it is sad to say) little respect, and the church has to take its place among a great many other forces that are at work in colonial life.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 21 June 1902
COLONIAL GARDENS. (By R. G. Crowley, Gardener, Ercildoune.) Excerpt – With so infinite a variety of colors and the fact of the herbaceous paeony being so perfectly hardy, and so absolutely easy to grow, it is a source of wonderment to me that these flowers are not grown more than they are in our colonial gardens…

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 1 August 1903 and The Horsham Times (Vic) 4 August 1903
OBITUARY. A very old colonist in Mrs. Peter McGinnis died at Northcote on July 28. She came to Australia with her husband in the ship Glenmore in 1840 and was 84 years old. The late Mr. Peter McGinnis was the first to take sheep into the Wimmera district from Ercildoune Station, then owned by the Messrs. Learmonth.

The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA) 8 December 1903; Albury Banner and Wodonga Express (NSW) 11 December 1903
PERSONAL. The death is announced of Mr. Thomas Livingstone-Learmonth, formerly a member of the Legislative Council of Victoria, and one of the earliest pioneers of that State. Mr. Learmonth and his brother, the late Mr. Somerville Livingstone-Learmonth, arrived in 1837, bringing with them three cargoes of sheep, and with these they occupied the country at Inverleigh, and afterwards at Buninyong. In January 1838, they explored the country from Mount Macedon by Mount Alexander, Forest Creek, and Bendigo, to the Mount Beckwith Ranges, on the western portion of which they finally settled, calling the hill “Ercildoun,” an ancient family name in Scotland. At Ercildoun they became so successful in the breeding of merino sheep that the name of their flock was regarded as amongst the highest in Australia. Mr. Learmonth and his brothers subsequently bought Groongal, a large property on the Murrumbidgee River, which some ten or twelve years ago was subdivided in three, that portion known as Bringagee falling to Mr. Learmonth’s lot. He retired in 1868 to the family property, Park Hall, Polmont, Scotland, where (says the Melbourne Argus) ‘he continued to reside till his death.’ He was born on May 2, 1818.

The Leader (Melbourne, Vic.) 20 February 1904
GREAT SUBDIVISIONAL SALE Of Portion of the Well-known ERCILDOUNE ESTATE at CRAIG’S ROYAL HOTEL, BALLARAT. Fisken Read and Co. (associated with S. G. Valentine and Co. and A. M. Greenfield and Co.) have received instructions from the executors of the late Sir Samuel Wilson to sell by auction, as above, ABOUT 8000 ACRES Of the Famous ERCILDOUNE ESTATE, Subdivided into Blocks of from 62 ACRES TO 318 ACRES. The portion to be sold comprises some of the richest agricultural and dairying land in the WAUBRA and BURRUMBEET DISTRICTS. The lands on the northern end of the state are all virgin soil, and are very rich, having had sheep running on the since the property was acquired by the Messrs. Learmonth, in 1837. Plans are now ready, and can be obtained on application to the agents, or the manager, on the estate.

The Australian Star (Sydney, NSW) 27 September 1904
A LARGE ESTATE. Late T. L. Learmonth. Probate Granted. Probate of the will of the late Thomas Livingstone Learmonth, Parkhall, Stirlingshire, Scotland, who died on October 28, 1903, has been granted to Frederick Valiant Cotton Livingstone Learmonth, of Newcastle.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 3 December 1904
DISCOVERY OF BALLARAT. EARLY HISTORY. Excerpt – “First House on Ballarat was situated immediately opposite where Craig’s Hotel now stands.”

The Bacchus Marsh Express (Vic.) 3 June 1905
WERRIBEE PARK. (From the Australasian.) Excerpt – “A chief object of our visit was to see a notable specimen of a weeping cypress, which is growing on the lawn, near the house. It is about 20ft., in height, as many feet in width, of a pretty pale green colour, and as pendulous as a weeping willow. It is supposed to have come from the Ercildoun gardens. Its species cannot be definitely fixed by those who have seen it, but it may possibly be a form of Cupressus corneyana, the tree from which the willow pattern of the Chinese is taken.”

The Leader (Melbourne, Vic.) 30 September 1905
TILLAGE AND PASTURE. LARGE ESTATES SUBDIVISION. ERCILDOUNE. BY J. L. DOW.
Excerpts – An interesting example of how steadily agriculture is working its way into the richest of the large pastoral estates of Victoria is Ercildoune, of which about 10,000 acres were two years ago cut up into farms varying from 60 to 320 acres in size. Ercildoune is one of the central properties of the country christened “Australia Felix,” by its discoverer, Major Mitchell, and described by that intrepid explorer, “the finest grazing country in the world.” The Messrs. Learmonth first took up this country as a squatting run in 1837. A picturesque craggy range that rises abruptly from the plain called Ercildoune Peak, which marks the centre of the estate, is a couple of hours’ drive north-westward from Ballarat. The portion of the estate now settled upon by the farmers abuts upon Waubra, a new name given to a station on a line that branches from the Ballarat to Maryborough railway. Waubra station is 21 miles from Ballarat, and Ballarat is 74 miles form Melbourne. This district has always been known as “The Springs,” and the alteration of the name to Waubra was not a happy one, because it has effaced the traditions belong to “The Springs” as one of the oldest established, richest and most prosperous agricultural districts of Victoria. The Springs, (or Waubra) district forms the north-western extension of that fertile area of farming country which is represented by such centres as Bungaree, Bullarook and Learmonth, where the Dividing Range of the State breaks into a group of low rounded volcanic hills, the soil of which, not only of the intervening flats, but also up the slopes, even to the tops of their flattened summits, has been proved for over 40 years’ cultivation, to be of extraordinary fertility. Owing to its inherent richness, together with the high class system of working under which it is treated, it is now producing as heavily as it did when first put under cultivation, now well on for half a century ago. The Springs farming district was originally started by a previous sale of a section of the station made by the Messrs. Learmonth before the Wilsons’ time, and one of the leading farmers of The Springs District, Mr. Trewin’s farm, which he purchased at that sale, and still occupies, formed one part of the first Ercildoune pre-emptive section, ad a few weeks ago he acquired the adjoining half (320 acres) at £27 an acre, preparatory to being joined by his brother from one of the agricultural counties in England.

The Geelong Advertiser (Vic.) 1906.
A PIONEER CITIZEN OF BALLARAT. CLOSE OF A SUCCESSFUL CAREER. (From Our Own Correspondent.)
Excerpt – Mr. William Bailey, who has been in ill-health during the past month, died this morning. He was a very old identity, and was closely associated with nearly all the mining ventures in this district. He was 79 years of age, and a native of Wellington, Somersetshire. He came to Australia in 1848, and after following pastoral pursuits for some time he proceeded to the rush at Fryer’s Creek. He remained in Bendigo for some time, and eventually settled in Ballarat. After carrying on business with the Messrs. Wilson Bros., storekeepers, he left that firm and identified himself with the Staffordshire Reef Mining Co., as manager. He subsequently was appointed mining manager for the Egerton Mining Co. The late Mr. Bailey was a most fortunate investor, and his shrewdness and pluck enabled him to amass considerable wealth. It was from the deceased’s connection with the Egerton mine that the great historical mining suit of Learmonth v. Bailey and others arose, which lasted almost uninterrupted for four years, and which it was estimated must have cost each side at least £100,000. Deceased was at one time an enthusiastic patron of the turf, and was twice a Derby winner with Cocos and Suwarrow…

The Bendigo Independent (Vic.) 26 April 1906.
DEATH OF MR. W. BAILEY. Excerpt. It is related that Mr. Learmonth died heart-broken as the result of the protracted legal wear and worry.

The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.) 16 February 1907
DEATH OF MR. GEORGE CLARK. Mr. George Clark, of East Talgai, died this evening (our Allora correspondence wired on the 6th instant). The deceased was over 73 years of age and had been ailing for a considerable time. P. R. Gordon writes: – By the death of Mr. George Clark, late of East Talgai, Queenslanders will lament the loss of one who accomplished much, at a critical period of its history, in advancing the interests of the pastoral industry. Some forty years ago, when the wool-producing industry of Queensland was in a transitional state, the late Mr. Clark embarked on the business of sheep breeding. Having decided on growing fine merino wool, he selected some superior specimens of the fine lustrous woolled sheep from the Ercildoune flock of Messrs. Learmouth, of Western Victoria, as his ground work; but after a very short experience of them he informed the writer that “they went to pieces” in the Queensland climate. He found what he deemed his beau ideal of a merino sheep in the flock of Mr. Taylor, of Tasmania, and forthwith established his Talgai flock on that type.

The Narrandera Argus and Riverina Advertiser (NSW) 7 June 1907
LEARMONTH-LASCELLES. News was received by the last mail of the marriage of Mr. Maxwell Learmonth, third son of the late Mr. A. S. Livingston-Learmonth, Wyvern, N.S.W., and Hanford Dorset, England, with Miss Margaret Lascelles, daughter of the Hon. C. F. Lascelles, and niece of the Earl of Harwood. The wedding took place on April 18th, at All Saints’ Church, Ennismore Gardens, the ceremony being performed by the vicar, Dr. Inge, and the Rev. H. S. Huon, and the Archbishop of York pronounced the blessing. The bride (whose sister is Maid of Honor to Her Majesty the Queen) wore lovely old lace on her satin dress. Two little boys, the sons of Lady Joan Verney (cousin of the bride), and Lady Edith Trotter (cousin of the bridegroom), acted as pages, in willow-green court suits, and there were two little girls and four grown up brides-maids, who all carried bunches of daffodils, with white dresses embroidered with green and gold, and touches of willow-green in their hats. The bridegroom presented each with a green enamel pendant on a chain. Captain Leger Learmonth, R.H.A. attended his brother as best man. The Countess of Dwart (aunt of the bride) held a reception after the ceremony at her residence in Rutland Gardens.

The Leader (Melbourne, Vic.) 14 September 1907
RECOLLECTIONS OF AN OCTOGENARIAN. By James Smith.
No. XII. – BALLARAT, THEN AND NOW. “The transformation which the city of Melbourne and its suburbs, Victorian political, social and industrial life, and the aspect of the entire country have undergone during the last half century, have been so great and yet so gradual, and the stages of transition have melted so imperceptibly into one another, that it is difficult to select two points of time for the purposes of comparison and contrast, or to present a picture belonging to the early fifties which shall be accurate in all its details for juxtaposition, with one of the present date. It is only when you have been long absent from a city or country, which you knew in its infancy, and return to it after an interval during which its growth has been rapid and continuous, that you are enabled to measure its expansion and enlarge upon its magnitude. I will select Ballarat as a case in point. Excerpt…I passed it on my way to Ercildoune, whither I was driven by Mr Jams Oddie, where in lieu of Thomas the Rhymer, the laird who was beloved of the Queen of Elfland, I found Mr. Thomas Learmonth, a descendant of his, with a Highland welcome on his lips and in his eyes, installed a substantial mansion which might have been one of the “ancestral homes of England” or of Bonnie Scotland, surrounded by all the comforts and elegancies of a manor house in the old country, and in the midst of a pleasurance which recalled the flower gardens of the motherland, but with greater vividness of coloring. Ercildowne, or Ercildoune, as it is now called, remains unchanged. I believe, but what a transformation has Ballarat undergone since the year 1855!”

The World News (Sydney, NSW) 20 June 1908
Viscount Portman has had himself much talked about in England as the result of an announcement that, although he is 79 years of age, he is shortly to be married to Mrs. Livingstone-Learmonth, of Hanford House, Blandford, Dorsetshire. She is the widow of Mr. A. J. Livingstone-Learmonth, of Hanford, Blandford… Viscount Portman is a well-known figure in the hunting field, having been master of the Portman Hunt for 50 years. He was recently presented with a testimonial by followers of the hunt in recognition of his jubilee in the field. Hanford House, where Mrs. Livingstone-Learmonth lives, is not far from Viscount Portman’s Dorsetshire seat. It is a fine mansion of stone in the Elizabethan style, and was erected in 1604.

The Worker (Wagga, NSW) 30 July 1908
Dear Worker, In respect to Mr. Horsfall’s opinion that a return to smooth-skinned sheep would lessen the density of the fleece, I would remark that I shore at Ercildoune for 35 years. There had never been a ‘wrinkle’ on the station. In thirteen years wrinkles were still absent, while the fleeces were as dense as ever. I would point out that the formation of most of the Western District flocks was accomplished without wrinkly sheep, and those which were crossed with Negretti or Rambouillet were only to correct the crossing with long wools in order to lengthen the staple. I have followed up wool shed work, pressing, and shearing for 52 years, and am certain that with careful culling and mating there is no danger of the wool of smooth skin sheep becoming too open. – John Laughton.

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) 25 June 1910
THE ROMANCE OF THE BORDERS. Jean Lang in “A Land of Romance” (Jack) gives a very readable popular account of the history of the Scottish Border from the building of the Roman Wall to the days of Sir Walter Scott. Saints, monks, wizards, Covenanters, Jacobites, and Resurrectionists in turn occupy the stage, and play their part in a strange eventful history. There is a good deal of authentic chronicle ready for the patient student, and poetry and romance in a fascinating picture. Arthur’s twelve great battles come into the story, and in the sixth century came Columba with his saints from Ireland, burning their boats behind them. Among the wizards, Merlin was left shut up by magic in the wood Caledon, and after him came the avesome Michael Scot and the baird of Ercildoune, and many another at whom the countryside has shivered. Border battles afford an inexhaustible field for popular treatment, and so do the innumerable adventures of Bonnie Prince Charlie. In later times gypsies and smugglers maintained the somewhat equivocal atmosphere of romance, and with them the author closes her interesting rambles along by-paths of history. There are several charming photogravures (a copper plate is coated with a light-sensitive gelatin tissue which has been exposed to a film positive, and then etched, resulting in a high quality intaglio print that can reproduce the detail and continuous tones of a photograph) from paintings by Tom Scott.

The Broadford Courier and Reedy Creek Times (Broadford Vic.) 2 June 1911
THE GOLDEN FLEECE. Specially Contributed. The timbered ranges of Ballarat are skirted all along their southern slopes by the great rolling plain, stretching away as far as the eye can reach to the south-east and south-west, and dotted here and there by solitary volcanic peaks, which, rising abruptly from the homogenous flatness of the surrounding country, seem to keep a lonely guard. At some remote period in the geological history of the district these conical hills were smoking mountains, – belching forth flame and stone, and between them giving vent to a flow of lava which covered the land for over a hundred miles, and left it flat or gently undulating in places the overflow of rock has been more recent than in others. Along the old road from Geelong to Ararat, which passes through Leigh Road, Shelford, Rukewood, Pitfield, and Skipton, you pass at times through stony rises, where the igneous rocks have not yet decomposed. At other laces the age of the plains is clearly greater; and how extensive have been the changes in the physical features of the country was shown during the sinking of mines on the Pitfield Plains, where the remains of forest trees were discovered below extensive layers of basalt. If from Skipton you strike across to Streatham, and there turn to the left, travelling down through Lake Bolac, Wickliffe, Glenthompson, and Dunkeld, to Hamilton, very much the same class of country will be passed through. At times the plains are of hard ironstone, and here is the future of a vast wheat area. At other places there are stony rises, composed of little parallel hillocks twenty, thirty, or forty feet high, almost like the waves of the sea, and liberally scattered with honeycombed volcanic stones. The soil on the stony rises is very rich and porous, whilst the vegetation is sweet and varied. Such land is the best for securing high lambing averages in Australia, and for sheep breeding, its value is very high, though of course, it is not suitable for agriculture. The stony rises country seems to be peculiar to Australia. Precisely why the molten lava should originally have shaped itself in this fashion has not been definitely determined by geologists. Probably the most recent formation of the kind is about the base of Mount Napier, near Hamilton. Here the quantity of decomposed rock is small, and the soil is shallow. The stones, moreover, are so honeycombed as to be very light. In the older formations these light stones are not found to the same extent. The honeycombing was no doubt formed by bubbles in the rock in its liquid state. By pressure these were more scarce in the lower strata; so that when the layers of rock split and break into fragments, the lightest stones are at top. When decomposition through atmospheric and other influences takes place, the lighter stones consequently are the first to turn into soil. For these reasons the quantity of soil, and the proportion of undecomposed light stones we find in volcanically formed country give an indication of the time which has elapsed since the place was last overwhelmed by molten lava. One of the chief advantages of the western district form a wool-grower’s point of view, is its mixed nature; very many of the pastoral estates lying partly in the timbered hill country, and partly on the flat plains. The latter are of heavier carrying capacity than the ranges; and they grow bigger sheep, but they do not yield quite so high a quality of wool, whilst, except among the stony rises, they do not give such high percentages of lambs as the more sheltered land. Consequently such famous old sheep stations as Trawalla, Carngham, Eurambeen, Mawallock, Ercildoune, Langi Kal Kal, and many others are more valuable on account of being made up partly of hills and partly of plains. A rare merit of the Western Victorian plains from a sheepbreeder’s point of view is their soundness. Neither in the wettest nor the driest of season will flocks contract disease; and it is no uncommon experience for a mob of one or two thousand sheep to run in a paddock from shearing to shearing without a single death. A revolutionary transformation of industry is now taking place on the Western Victorian plains. However, that is the subject for another article. At present the predominant feature about these great grassy wilds is the very little the great bulk of them have been changed from a state of Nature. Starting at Shelford, you may ride over 40 miles, through Rokewood and Pitfield to Skipton, then 17 miles to Streatham, and 13 further on to Lake Bolac, and you will pass only a few straggled-looking blue-gum plantations and a little farming – merely patches. All round you there lies a rolling sea of waving grass, aparently limitless, glistening in the sun like the sea, and broken in its monotony only by such isolated volcanic peaks as Mount Elephant and Mount Emu, and now and again by the distant blue peaks of the far Pyrenees. When you draw westward, approaching Lake Bolac, however, the teeth-like summits of the Grampians rise from the horizon like the edge of some gigantic purple saw. As the sun drops to rest behind the serrated hills, which stretch from Mount William to Mount Abrupt across half the horizon, and the precipices stand our clear and black against a lurid sky, whilst deep shadows creep silently over the lonely plain, you feel that you have come to the end of one class of country, the geological boundary being so clear and formidable. And, in truth, the Grampians are a boundary in one direction of the high quality wool land. Range after range, they stretch away to the west, in rugged grandeur, till quite a different type of land and climate is reached. Twenty miles further down in a south-westerly direction you will find hills for many miles covered in sheoak, honeysuckle trees, and other light timber. Bushy Creek, Hopkins Hill, Brin Brie, and several other large properties are altogether or partly composed of such country. There is certainly no other class of land in Victoria, or Australia, able to grow a finer wool that comes from this immediate locality. Taking one year with another, I think the Bushy Creek clip holds about the pride of place in Victorian wools. This is no doubt a matter of opinion; but to me no other wool appears to have quite the same combination of character, elasticity, and lustre. The market records, moreover, show the great merit of this clip and also of that from Hopkins Hill and from some of the other properties in the immediate locality. On the Bushy Creek run there is a hill commanding one of the finest views of the Western District to be had from anywhere, not excepting even the top of Mount Abrupt. You look away to the east, the south, and north. The plains lie at your feet, stretching to the wooded hills that lie from Ararat to Beaufort. Mount Elephant rests like a knob in the west 80 miles distant. To the south, long belts of green timber intersperse the wide rolling plain; and everywhere you can see the country is luxuriantly clothed with a bright natural vegetation, which must in the hundreds of thousands of acres look like a panorama at your feet; and they nearly all are held in estates varying in extent from 10,000 to 50,000 acres. One of the most attractive parts of the western district is in the pastoral country about the little township of Beaufort, and lying some halfway on the railway line to Ararat. Here there is a considerable variety of country, and the timbered spurs of the Pyrenees run out on to the treeless plains in a dozen directions. Mount Cole, on an adjacent range, down the side of which a hundred streamlets murmur and sparkle through ferns and tangled undergrowth, giving rise in the Fiery Creek, once famous in the days of gold, and from which Lake Bolac is fed. From here come the well-known clips of Carngham, Eurambeen, Stoneleigh, Mawallock, and Trawalla; whilst closer to Ballarat like Langi Kal Kal, Ercildoune and Langi Willi.

THE PASTORALISTS’ REVIEW 15 August 1911
Groongal and Burra, New South Wales, and Corona and Silsoe, Queensland
The name of Learmonth has been intimately associated with the breeding of Merino sheep since the early part of the last century. In 1838, Messrs. Thomas and Somerville Learmonth settled down in Victoria, having taken up a tract of rich land in the vicinity of Ballarat, where they eventually established their home at Ercildoune, and formed with infinite care a stud of Merino sheep, the original of which were purchased from Mr. Kermode, of Tasmania. This flock laid down the foundation of many of the most valuable flocks of Victoria of the present day, and as time went on its rams were widely distributed throughout New South Wales. Early in 1865 the Messrs. Learmonth, together with their younger brother, Andrew, purchased Groongal from Messrs. Harvey ad Cockburn, and Bringagee, from Messrs. Harvey and Alleyne. These properties, situated on the northern banks of the Murrumbidgee, about midway between Narrandera and Hay, were (with Benerembah), originally taken up in the fifties by a Mr. O’Brien, of Yass, and consisted of about 35,000 acres of land held under lease from the Crown. The first manager of the property under the Learmonths was Mr. McLarty, the father of Mr. Donald McLarty, the present manager of Bundure. In 1870 Mr. George Mair was appointed manager, and remained in that position until the early nineties. Under Mr. Mair’s management, 310,000 acres of land were secured and made freehold in one solid block, and improvements were pushed on and the stock continually improved, large numbers of stud rams and stud ewes being sent up from Ercildoune. The country consists of rich plains, interspersed with sand ridges covered with Murray pine, and well sheltered with myall and kooba trees, and clumps of other timber, and has a long frontage to the River Murrumbidgee. Water is obtainable anywhere by means of wells, the water rising to a uniform depth of from 70 to 80 ft. from the surface, and in addition to wells there are a large number of tanks and dams. In 1889, Mr. Somerville Learmonth having died, his trustees resolved to withdraw his share from the partnership, and the then Learmonth Bros. decided to dissolve partnership, and Groongal was divided into three blocks, each of them having a frontage to the river and extending north about thirty miles. These three blocks were known as Groongal, Wyvern, and Bringagee. The partners then drew lots for them. Groongal fell to Somerville’s estate, Wyvern to Andrew’s, and Bringagee to Thomas. The latter property was sold only last year (1910) by Mr. Thomas Learmonth’s trustees to Mr. Albert Austin of Wanganella. Groongal remained the sole property of the estate of Mr. Somerville Learmonth until 1906, when the then owners, the children of the late Mr. Somerville Learmonth decided to join with Messrs. Mair and Learmonth in their Queensland and New South Wales properties, and the Groongal Pastoral Company Ltd. was formed, as the amalgamation of the two interests. The estate still bears out its original reputation as a sheep breeding country. Its stud flock was in the early eighties added to by the purchase of judiciously selected Tasmanian rams, and later by the purchase from Wanganella of a number of very fine stud rams. The sheep are large-framed and plain-bodied, carrying heavy fleeces of excellent quality, and the wool always realizes high prices. There is also a high-class herd of stud Shorthorns, which has been constantly kept up to the mark by the purchase of highest-class sires from the leading herds. Imported cattle were also included in the purchase of the estate in 1865. Groongal has long been well known for the excellence of its horse, Melbourne by Panic, Homer by Delhi – Poetess, Vengeur, by Chandos – First Lady and Vino by Haut Brion – Miss Westbourne (imp.), being amongst those that have been used. The draught horses are also a very excellent lot.

Corona, an area of some 600 odd square miles, one of the firm’s properties, is situated in the Mitchell district of Queensland, and was purchased by Messrs. George and James Muir in 1881 from the Peel River Land and Mineral Company, and two years later a one-third share was sold to Mr. S. R. Livingstone-Learmonth. At that time, that part of Queensland was quite undeveloped, almost the whole of the country being occupied by cattle. On the purchase of the property steps were immediately taken to dispose of the cattle and improve the country for sheep. In 1896, Silsoe, a property adjoining Corona, was purchased, and has since been worked in conjunction with Corona. A portion of Corona and Silsoe has been resumed by the Government, and is occupied by grazing farmers, but there still remains a solid block of 348,000 acres including about 62,000 acres purchased land, one of the best properties in the famous Mitchell district. Burra, which was purchased by Messrs. Mair and Learmonth, is also one of the firm’s properties, and is a fine estate situated on the highlands in the Tumbarumba district, N.S.W. When purchased some thirteen years ago it was in a very rough state, and a large sum of money has been spent in improving the place. It is now well improved, consisting of rich balsatic and granite lands, and, with about a 40 in. rainfall will no doubt become a great potato and dairying country.

The Penshurst Free Press (Vic.) 30 November 1912
Irrigation In The Early Days. (By A. S. Kenyon, C. E., in “Journal of Agriculture.”) Excerpt – Footnote by the Hon. Geo. Graham, M.L.A., Minister of Agriculture and Water Supply.) I do not think the name of Messrs. Learmonth Bros., of Ercildoune, should be omitted from any list of early irrigators in Victoria. As far back as 1860, Mr. Thomas Learmonth prepared a piece of land about 1½ acres in extent, and, after carefully grading the same, had it planted with lucerne. He watered it by gravitation from a large reservoir situated on a hill at the back of the station, and irrigated with a system of mitre drains about 9 feet apart. To my personal knowledge he supplied a daily ration of lucerne to over 200 pigs for five months in the year from this small plot. I saw the crop growing in February, 1861, when they were just preparing to take off the fourth cutting, and the lucerne was from 18 inches to 2 feet high. What Mr. Kenyon has stated with regard to Mr. Ricardo is perfectly correct, as I had the information from Mr Ricardo himself many years ago. Mr. Ricardo was a very advanced and enthusiastic agriculturist, and was one of the very first men who purchased land in the Ballarat district for farming purposes.

Supplement to “The Ballarat Star” 13 December 1912
RECOLLECTIONS of the First Introduction of Trout to the Ponds at “Ercildoune Estate.” BURRUMBEET, NEAR BALLARAT. NOTE – The following article is written specially for the Ballarat “Star” and “Stock and Station Annual,” by Mr Tom Fisher, of the Hatcheries at Sir Samuel Wilson’s Ercildoune Estate. Excerpt – “The first English trout were brought here by the Messrs. Learmonth, about 1872, before Sir Samuel Wilson became the owner of Ercildoune. They secured a hundred fry from the first trout ova successfully treated in Victoria, and liberated them in three dams at their Homestead. Just previous to this they also had Murray cod brought from the Murray and liberated in Lake Burrumbeet, and a few were kept on Ercildoune. Two men were employed in this undertaking, and started overland from the Murray with probably 100 young cod, less than a pound weight each; these were conveyed in iron tanks of water, which were kept fresh from supplies obtainable at different creeks en route. After a very slow journey they arrived at Ercildoune with 40 live fish. Thirty of these were liberated in Lake Burrumbeet, where they survived for many years…
The Rochester Express (Vic.) 7 April 1914
Burrumbeet Light Horse Camp. The 17th Australian Light Horse Brigate finished their course of training at Burrumbeet on Thursday 19th ult. Four regiements of light horse were in camp, viz., the 17th, 19th, 20th and 29th, as well as various detachments of the Army Service Corps, Army Medical Corpts, Signallers and Engineers, a squad of the latter being attached to the brigade headquarters. It was originally intended to hold the camp at Trawalla, but Burrumbeet was substituted at the last moment…

Some narrative supplied by Mr G. Dobson, junr. Re Henry Dobson, a native of Northumberland. He landed in Adelaide in 1852, and immediately came out to Ballarat, where gold digging was the lure. Mr Dobson had considerable experience of mining, being engaged in coal mnes in the north country, and being early on the field was fairly successful. He had as a mate Dick Mitchell, who afterwards built the famous Mitchell’s buildings, in Sturt street, Ballarat, and now occupied by Snow, the draper. With bright prospects, Mr Dobson brought his wife and three children from Adelaide the following year. Mr Dobson was an unwilling witness of the famous fight, at the Eureka Stockade, for believing that the cause was hopeless, he refused to join the other miners when asked to do so and stayed in his tent during the night. So keenly was the fight contested that if he so much as struck a match bullets whistled through the tent. After this he worked in the gravel pits for three years, when he selected a block of land and left for Burrumbeet in 1856. Strikes were a well known feature in England even in those days and were mainly responsible for Mr Dobson immigrating to Australia.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 20 June 1914
STOCK AND STATION NOTES. By HENDLEBY. ERCILDOUNE. Of all the interesting homes in Victoria, I do not know of one which can supass Ercildoune, not only by reason of the part played by those who settled here in the first instance, the Messrs. Learmonth, but also in consequence of all that was subsequently done here on behalf of the pastoral industry and of the State itself by the late Sir Samuel Wilson, and in their turn by his executors. Ercildoune may not longer control the destinies of other flocks, or supply the material upon which the wool industry of Victoria still continues to be built, but, nevertheless, it is still an honoured name in all that belongs to matters piscatorial… In 1873, the property having been purchased by Sir Samuel Wilson, the stud was placed under the control of the late Mr. Jonathan Shaw, and everything seemed to prosper until a few years after the introduction of American blood.

The Leader (Melbourne, Vic.) 6 July 1918
PAPER WATER PIPES. Sir, In “The Leader” of 4th May I read with interest a note by R. E. Luther, B.A., about an ancient piece of paper pipe unearthed on his ground. In early days I had seen many of these pipes used by Thomas Learmouth here on Ercildoune. They were known to us as “pitch and paper” pipes. The paper was held in place by pitch, each pipe was about 9 feet long and 4 inches in diameter. They were fastened together by a ferrule about 8 inches long, which had a hole in the side, through which hot cement was poured. This mixture was largely composed of sulphur, made up in flat grey bricks, and had to be melted very carefully over a fire in an iron pot, being inflammable and very sulphry when it happened to get alight. It made an excellent joint, quite as hard as Portland cement, and I believe, if my memory serves me right, was called bitumen, but I am not certain. My later father, who was blacksmith here for Messrs. Learmonth, laid many hundred of yards of these pipes, as it was the first method they had of conveying water to the old Homestead, which was over half a mile from a spring. As a boy I used to find great interest in watching the boiling mixture of cement, and also in melting the pitch to see it smoke. There was no doubt about the durability of these pipes, which also stood a fair amount of water pressure. Some twenty odd years after the first was laid they were taken up, and were quite as sound as when put down, the only defect being in those near the surface where they were liable to get overheated in summer if not in use with water. As far as I recollect, the Learmonths brought them from England, and I fancy they were made either in England or Holland. That would be probably some time in the year 1852 or earlier. I don’t imagine that they were imported from China. I clearly recall that the cement blocks had the name of some town in England stamped on them, and when the pipes were new they were each rolled in rope made of straw, and filled with loose straw. This, I suppose, was to keep them from softening while passing through the tropical heat in the old sailing ships then used. Trusting this may be of some slight interest. Yours, &c., TOM FISHER. “The Hatcheries, Ercildoune,” 24th June.

The Western Mail (Perth, WA) 14 August 1919
DOTS AND DASHES. (By “Nomad.”) The Chancellor of the British Exchequer is admittedly in financial difficulties, but England is nevertheless not going to be “mingy” with her war leaders. In accordance with established precedent from the day of Marlborough to that of Wellington, and even into those of Napier, Roberts, and Kitchener, peerages and Parliamentary grants to support them were being served round. Australians even are grumbling that General Birdwood is only getting a baronetcy, with a proportionate grant. They seem to overlook the fact that everybody does not hanker after a seat in the House of Lords, and that a peerage without a big estate is something like a tin kettle attached to a dog’s tail. It makes a good deal of clatter, but is a serious encumbrance. There are no Dukes in this deal; and even if Kitchener had survived, a dukedom to an elderly bachelor would have been a barren honour. But among the peerages, there is one which deserves special remembrance, in that it is a sort of fulfillment of the eight centuries old prediction of True Thomas Learmonth – Thomas the Rhymer of Ercildoune. Field Marshal Haig’s family is as old, historically, as the laird of Ercildoune, who was deprived of the privilege of lying during his seven-year sojourn in fairyland, and who thus prophesized:

Betide, betide, whate’er betide,
Haig shall be Haig of Bemerside.

The estate is in the family still and the Field Marshal is now Lord Haig of Bemerside.

The Ballarat Star (Vic.) 12 October 1920
HISTORIC ERCILDOUNE. FAMOUS ESTATE CHANGES OWNERSHIP. EARLY ASSOCIATIONS RECALLED. BY M. McCALLUM. Excerpts – The news briefly chronicled in “The Star” a few days ago that the famous Ercildoune Estate, near Burrumbeet, had passed from the control of the executors of the late Sir Samuel Wilson to the possession of Major H. Alan Currie, M.C., was learned with pleasure. It means that a citizen of a very fine type will be brought into the Ballarat district, and the fact that the homestead will be occupied by the Major and his family will mean a revival of social life on the estate that had long since become almost extinct, although Mr. Purcell, who had managed the estate for the executors, for many years, had proved a likeable host. Another pleasing feature of the change in ownership is the prospect of practically all the profits that will be derived from the Currie-owned portion of the estate remaining in Victoria, instead of going to absentee beneficiaries in the old country. There will be about 5000 acres cut up for soldier settlement, which is another desirable result of the sale of the property.

Probably no pastoral property has more interesting associations than Ercildoune, which was one of the earliest centres of habitation in Victoria. The early history of “old” Ercildoune is, to some extent, the early history of that portion of the State over which some of the pioneer explorers roamed 10 or 12 years before the discovery of gold attracted so many thousands to the district. The reference to the famous estate as ”old Ercildoune” should, perhaps be qualified. It would be more appropriate to describe it as “new Ercildoune,” for it is named after Ercildoune in Scotland, that old keep on the Scottish border with which the name of Thomas the Rhymer is associated. The rhymer was an ancestor of the borthers, Thomas Livingstone Learmonth and Somerville Livingstone Learmonth, who, were the earliest whites to inhabit the locality, and whose name is perpetuated by the township of earmonth, about half-way between Ercildoune and Ballarat. To the people of the district it is affectionately known as “Old Ercildoune,” because it was taken up by the Learmonths not long after the Hentys settled in Victoria…

KNOWN TO SPORTSMAN. Ercildoune is in a beautiful situation and is favourably known by anglers, for the stream, which passes through the estate has been kept well stocked with fish for many years. The district was the home of a large tribe of aborigines, and many corroborees were held there. Sir Samuel Wilson spent most of his period, as owner of Ercildoune in England, attracted there no doubt by the glamour of high official and social life. He became M.P. for Portsmouth, and gained entry to the highest aristocratic circles. His eldest son, the late Colonel Gordon Chesney Wilson, married Lady Sarah Churchill, daughter of the seventh Duke of Marlborough, and aunt of the Right Hon. Winston Churchill…

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 24 December 1921
CHIRNSIDES OF THE WERRIBEE. STORY OF EIGHTY YEARS By W. H. LANG. Excerpt – By 1837 land had already been taken up on the Barwon, as far as forty miles from Geelong, and its occupier was one Ricketts. Mr. George Russell settled on the Moorabool, within twelve miles of Corio Bay, as manager for the Clyde company, assisted by Mr. D. Fisher. Dr. Alexander Thompson, maternal grandfather of Mr. Alexander Thompson Creswick, of this city – and a good many other places – also secured land in the neighbourhood, at the falls on the Barwon, while Mr. Darke occupied a portion of the Boorabool Hills. The Manifolds took up some land near the Werribee, stretched away out west to Colac, and then spread themselves, with their flocks and herds to where they dwell to-day. Messrs. Reid, Learmonth, Anderson, and Yuille explored Buninyong and Burrumbeet, and while the Learmonths left an indelible monument to their name in Ercildoune, Yuille squatted at Buninyong. Bacchus, whose memory is kept alive by the exceedingly prosperous Bacchus Marsh, also appeared on the scene, and by 1841, so urgent was the thirst for land, that Thomas Chirnside had taken up a large area of country as far back as the Wannon, and was in possession at Mt. William, which he had reached by “running heel” on the tracks which Mitchell had left when traversing, “Australia Felix.”

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 22 November 1922
THE ERCILDOUNE LAGOONS. Within the last few weeks there have ben many references, both in “Bush Notes” of “The Australasian” and “Nature Notes” of “The Argus,” to the lakes and lagoons about Ercildoune, that famous estate pioneered by the Learmonth family, afterwards owned by Sir Samuel Wilson and his family, and now the home of Major Alan Currie. It is appropriate that these references to Ercildoune and its surroundings should have appeared in a column with Mr. Donald Macdonald’s name at the head of it, because his grand-father was the first white man to discover Ercildoune and to claim it for the Learmonths by putting sheep on it. Having been born on Ercildoune, and living the greater part of a lifetime there, I know something of the lakes and lagoons which surround it, from Burrumbeet out to Learmonth. I read with interest some recent notes by “Galtee More” on the movements of trout, perch, and eels in the little creek, which formerly linked up the Ercildoune lagoons with Burrumbeet. Since “Galtee More” saw it, some 15 years ago, this water-way has practically disappeared, owing to repeated breakaway in the dam which formed the Cockpit Lagoon, a favourite home of fish and fowl in former days. There was no finer haunt for waterfowl in all the west than the Cockpit, and it is rather a pity that the dams have not be repaired or renewed, because it might still be a wonderful wildfowl sanctuary and nesting-ground, apart from the practical pint, that it ensures a permanent water supply throughout the year for the soldier settlers, so many of whom are now established in the country round about it. The Cockpit was always a famous lagoon for fish, and perch especially seemed to do particularly well in it. While they dwarfed in other waters, there was always large fish in the Cockpit. Only a few years ago an angler could depend on bags of perch ranging in weight from 2lb. to 4lb., and few little fish were ever got in it. From 50 to 60 perch was an average catch for a few hours fishing. On one afternoon not so long ago we caught 80 perch in a few hours, using nothing but a heavy brass spinning minnow. With the recurrence of floods each winter, there was a regular overflow of these large perch from the Cockpit to the wide waters of Burrumbeet, which was being constantly restocked, to the great advantage of fishermen. Although great numbers of trout fry were liberated in this lagoon from the Ercildoune hatcheries every year, it was singular that very few of the fish were ever caught. Either the food supply was so abundant that they refused all baits, or the perch, as well as the cormorants and water rats which were particularly numerous may have taken heavy toll of them. About the time “Galtee More” mentions a heavy flood burst, one of the large dams some miles higher up amongst the foot-hills, and great number of large rainbow and brown trout were swept down over the valley, which would account for the 6½lb fish seen in the creek, which from that time onward was no longer a regular waterway. The Cockpit found a new outlet beyond Callender Hill, and through part of Langi-Kal-Kal station, to the western side of Burrumbeet. That older creek had always-fine perch fishing, for they worked up it in great numbers from Burrumbeet, only to be stopped at length by the high floodgates of the Cockpit. During the drought of 1914, Burrumbeet became practically a mud bed, in which vast numbers of fine trout and perch perished, the eels alone surviving until the rains of the following winter. Afterwards the lake refilled, was again stocked with perch from Ercildoune, but the fishing has never been quite as good since, though when you do happen upon a shoal, good bags are occasionally got. The lake has been constantly raided too by great numbers of cormorants and pelicans, which increased steadily in numbers during the years of the war. With his exaggerated bill – or fish scoop – the pelican out of the water looks a solemn and stupid bird, but there is method as well as intelligence in his ways of fishing of which the drive is the favourite plan. I have watched hundreds of pelicans at work in one of these drives, the birds forming themselves into a long crescent, and with splashing and flapping, driving the shoals of perch before them into the shallow margins and there catching them in great numbers. The cormorants work occasionally in somewhat similar formation, and are even more destructive. The great numbers of minnow which “Galtee More” mentioned have, to a great extent disappeared, not only from these waters, but also in all the waterways of the West, their numbers are greatly diminished. One reason why Burrumbeet is not so well stocked with fish as in former years, is that apart from the Ercildoune supply being practically cut off, the lake has few of those weed-beds which are the usual spawning place for perch. Both the ova and the young fry are exposed, and must be taken in great numbers by seagulls, which resort there in flocks during the months of October and November, as well as by herons and other waders and water-birds still fairly numerous. In marked contrast with Burrumbeet, is the condition of things at Lake Learmonth in the same region. This lake has never gone dry, and is well supplied both in water and fish from cold springs and dams connected with it, and has, in addition, a good spawning surface of its own. Its natural resources that way are so great indeed as to be a disadvantage. There are too many perch, far too many, in Learmonth, and as a result they have in late years so greatly shrunk in size as to be no longer worth catching. One may get a hundred in a day, and not one fish amongst them worth keeping. It is rather curious that these two lakes should offer just the same contrast with trout as with perch. The first English trout were liberated in Learmonth over 40 years ago, and my records for the Ercildoune hatchery show that during the 15 years ending 1919, I turned down over 60,000 trout fry, the greater proportion of which were rainbow, in its waters. The trout fishing has always been good in Learmonth; quite recently fine fish have been taken from it, all in the best condition. So that, while the perch dwarf in the struggle for existence, trout in the same waters keep their size – and not, I am convinced, by preying upon the redfins. One hears of the destruction of native fishes by trout, and it may happen indirectly in competition for the same food, but in a life’s experience in catching thousands of trout, and always examining the stomach contents as an indicator of their food and feeding habits, I have never found a single native fish in the stomach of even the largest trout, although frequently small fish of his own kind. In the period just mentioned, Burrumbeet had even a more liberal stocking, yet few good trout are taken there now by anglers.

It is a curious fact that although new waters had been formed for them, the eels never in all the years changed their route of penetration, even to artificial lagoons and dams, which originally may not have existed. They went down the little creek mentioned by Galtee More on the way to the sea, but never, as far as my thirty years of observation indicate, did the elvers, or eel fares come up that way. Ascending the Emu Creek they passed into the Horseshoe lagoon on Langi-Kal-Kal, thence by a little creek running behind Mount Misery up to a natural lagoon on a tableland of the divide, which was the limit of their northward movement. From this lagoon they found their way along a channel leading through the series of Ercildoune lagoons and artificial lakes, down to the Cockpit, Burrumbeet, and the Emu Creek again. One could see the gradual increase in size, which marked the progress of their life cycle and life circle from sea to sea by this regular roundabout route. Thus the largest eels of all – some of them running in my experience up to 11lb. in weight, were always got in the Cockpit lagoon, their last halting place before the impulse to spawn carried them off to the sea again. In reaching the high level lagoon they had to pass over difficult country, taking advantage no doubt of exceptionally wet seasons to do it. Latterly drainage and settlement has interfered considerably with their ancient waterway, and while eels are still fairly numerous in the lower waters between Trawalla and Ercildoune, not nearly so many of them, I think, now win a way through to the higher elevations. With trout stocking practically discontinued and the abolition of the old Ercildoune hatchery, the trout supply in lakes like Burrumbeet and Learmonth may be expected to diminish gradually, leaving these waters chiefly to eels and perch.

Mention of Mount Misery in connection with the Emu Creek eel routes reminds me that I have often heard some curiosity expressed as to why it should be considered miserable. It is just the consequence as so often happens of one uncomfortable night. A small part of pioneers composed of the two Learmonths, with John Aitken, A. Anderson, and W. C. Yuille, when out on one of their exploring excursions, spend a most unpleasant night under this highest peak of the Mount Beckwith ranges, and named it Mount Misery before they were fairly warm again next morning. “I cannot but regret,” wrote Thomas Learmonth long afterwards, “that the finest landmark thereabout should continue to bear a foolish name that originated in a thoughtless moment.” Far better named, for its association, is The Rhymer, the high hill overlooking Ercildoune, for it stands as a memorial to “Thomas the Rhymer”, one of the Learmonth ancestors well known in Scottish history.

Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic.) 11 March 1926
Early Associations. There is a great sentimental interest in the tour of Victorian and Tasmanian pastoral runs which is being undertaken by Mr. J. Livingstone Learmonth who has been spending some nights under the roof of the old Ercildoune near Ballarat, now governed by Major H. Alan Currie. This particular Learmonth, whose surname goes down to posterity through the nearby hamlet Learmonth, is a member of the Ballarat Learmonths who owned much of the land thereabouts before the gold-diggers rooted it up. Thus J. L. Learmonth must have had mixed feelings as he moved about the historic old Homestead, which with its bluestone façade and parapet, is a reminder of the feudal castles of the old world. The Learmonths trace their ancestry back to Thomas the Rhymer, described by Sir Walter Scott, who lived at Ercildoune, near the English border. The younger Learmonth is now in the Tasmanian haunts of his forebears, who helped to colonise Van Diemen’s Land before Tasman’s name was bestowed upon it. (*The author of this article didn’t realize that the building material used was granite, not bluestone!)

Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic.) 28 April 1927
‘ERCILDOUNE’ A HOME THAT BREATHES OF OLD ENGLAND. Much has been heard of Ercildoune, the country home of Major and Mrs. H. Alan Currie, but it has been given to comparatively few to set eyes on the place, which occupies a secluded vale one and a quarter miles back from a lane into which merges the branch roads from Lakes Burrumbeet and Learmonth, and is about 17 miles from Ballarat. It was the ideal spot for the “quiet day in the country.” Ercildoune is tucked away at the foot of the rugged slopes of Mt. Ercildoune, so named by the original explorers and settlers, the Learmonth brothers, after their old keep on the Scottish side of the border, where an ancestor, Thomas the Rhymer, existed centuries ago. Its luxurious splendor, can only be imagined by the wayfarer. But as one nears the end of the long winding avenue Ercildoune takes shape. Its grey turrets are glimpsed through the fast yellowing treetops. One cannot but be inspired by the scene as it unfolds itself. It is a paradise on earth. An imposing castellated stone mansion rises in the heart of a garden that would make Toorak’s best look ridiculous. From the terrace one beholds a panoramic vista of leafy drives, winding about miniature lakelets, smothered by water lilies, of twisting, irregular fern-bordered ways and wide-sweeping verdant sward; a fern glade hiding behind a rustic bridge; a rose garden opening up by way of a picturesque path, along which stalks a proud peacock; a rose garden that would make Alister Clark envious only that this ardent rosarian helped to stock the beds; and a succession of walled gardens linked up with rustic arches set in high stone walls. Straightaway an English atmosphere is felt. Fig trees and vines alternate in a tenacious grip of the stone ramparts; roses and roses combine to produce a wealth of color within their domain; massed blooms of begonia and salvia bonfire vie with each other in a desire to run riot with colors in general; trails of wisteria ornament a sundial on the central lawn, and midget gentlemen of Old England, guarded in olden style, abound in counterfeit stone, surrounding a raised well made of the most ancient stone that the Holy Land has known.

Many notable people have sampled the hospitality of the Curries during their six years occupancy of Ercildoune. Vice-regal personages have been there several times. No doubt if testimonials were asked of them, the Earl and Countess of Stradbroke, Lord and Lady Forster and Lord and Lady Stonehaven would readily comply, and would say how greatly they enjoyed their stay at the ancient and stately home. Many lesser folk also have par-taken of the good things of Ercildoune. They all appraise highly the charming hospitality of the hostess. It is of Albert Miller that Mrs. Currie is second daughter, and her marriage with Major H. Alan Currie, M.C., linked her with another old Victorian family, one-time head of which was the late J. L. Currie, of Lara, a Camperdown pioneer, of whom Alan is one. The oldest Victorian Homestead could not have fallen into better hands.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 26 November 1927
VISIT TO ERCILDOUNE. By Snowden. Excerpts – Rich in memories of the early days of Victorian pastoral and gold-mining development is the Ballarat district, and one of the most historic landmarks is Ercildoune, the home of Mr. H. Alan Currie. Ercildoune now covers about 8,000 acres, on which are run sheep, cattle, and thoroughbred horses. The original holding taken up by the Learmonth brothers comprised a very much larger area, but with the development of the then colony and now State, subdivision of the old pastoral holdings was a natural corollary. Last week I had the pleasure of a visit to Ercildoune, and as the motor-car was speeding through the long avenue, more than a mile in length, of great spreading pine trees from the outer gate to the entrance gates of the homestead proper, one’s mind irresitibily turned to throughts of what an interesting human story those old trees could tell had they but tongues. How many proud stepping horses have been ridden or drawn coaches, gigs, and other conveyances along that avenue in the last 70 years; and what conversations have taken place there in that span of a man’s lifetime. The period of the gold fever, when Ballarat (or is it not correctly Ballaarat) was a household or camphold word in the new land, and its mention, a magnet to many in the old world; the time of the “squatting” of the pastoralists; both industries giving rise to the activities of those misguided gentry the bushrangers. No doubt many others have veneration for old trees as much as I have. The wireless waves now beat through them, but some of them have been “hearing” the world for countless generations. The old pines are but youngsters to those ancient gum trees, which saw the coming of the Learmonths to Ercildoune. The Learmonths brought in pots the pines, planes, elms, and other now stalwart trees.

Ercildoune is a storehouse of historic treasures of the old days, and Mr. Currie showed me many relics of the old place, and also regaled me with stories, grave and gay, relating to it. Mr. Currie, by the way, is a cousin of the late Dr. Lang, whose love for the border country in the homeland is well known to the readers of “The Australasian.” The Learmonths, or at least their ancestors, were “Borderers.” Thomas, Andrew, and Somerville Learmonth were sons of a very early Tasmanian settler who came from India. The three Learmonth brothers came from Tasmania to Mount Buninyong (V.) in 1837, and established their homestead there. They then marked out the open country, which they saw from the top of the hill, and they marked a furrow around Lake Burrumbeet to the Beaufort ranges, thence to Mount Mitchell and back to Buninyong. In this area was included practically the whole of the now City of Ballarat. The tract of country taken up by the three brothers was about 400 square miles. After being at Buninyong for a year they decided to place their homestead in a more central situation, and moved to the present site in 1838 (which date is cared in the keystone of the doorway of Ercildoune), and called the place Ercildoune after the town in the border country of Scotland, where their ancestor, Thomas the Rhymer lived. When I approached the front of Ercildoune, I noticed on the right of the front of the main building an ivy-covered tower about 10ft. square. This tower is the replica of that belonging to Thomas the Rhymer. Andrew Learmonth built Ercildoune to his own plans, and the old ivy covered granite buildings has a peaceful old world charm of its own, peculiarly soothing and refreshing to the senses.

Curious Coincidence. In 1872 the Learmonths sold the property to Sir Samuel Wilson, and then they acquired large interests in the Argentine, and afterwards in New South Wales. They had several properties in New South Wales, the chief being Groongal, where they made a large fortune. In the Argentine they also accumulated much wealth. As Mr. Currie mentioned this date of the advent of Sir Samuel Wilson to Ercildoune, Melbourne Cup memores of peculiar coincidence drifted through my mind. Thoroughbreds have for generations been bred at Ercildoune, and, so far as the greatest of Australian races is concerned, the best remembered Ercildoune product is Wait-a-bit, who failed by a half a neck to defeat The Grafter for the Melbourne Cup in 1898. Wait-a-bit (by Malua) was bred at Ercildoune in 1893 by Sir Samuel Wilson, and was out of Lucina, bred in 188 by the same breeder… However, to get back to the story of Ercildoune. Owing to the country being infested with bushrangers at the time the building was being erected (the granite was obtained on the property) it was a hard matter to get money safely down to the coast. On one occasion the sovereigns were sewn in a belt on a then 13 year old lad (young Tom) in the expectation that the knights of the road would overlook such a hiding-place. The money reached its destination safely. This and many other incidents are related in letters in Mr. Currie’s possession. On another occasion Ercildoune was “stuck up” by a bushranger and rifled. The scamp then made off through the bush, and one of the Learmonths (Andrew, if my memory of the story has not tricked me) noticed that he was making for Mount Mitchell. Andrew saddled a horse and, taking the shortest route to Mount Mitchell advied the inmates of the probably unwelcome visit. About 1,500 sovereigns, which were in the house, were immediately concealed in a bag of flour. The bushranger duly arrived, but he did not find the money. A day or two later he was overtaken in the hills by some troopers and shot dead.

Ercildoune possesses many magnificent trees, and there is authentic evidence that the willows around the small lakes on the property are slips from some of the willows around Napoleon’s grave at St. Helena, and were brought out by the Learmonths. At the back of the house are two magnificent plane trees. Probably there are no more majestic specimens anywhere in Victoria. They were brought out in pots… I have forgotten to mention that though the Learmonths came from Mount Buninyong to Ercildoune in 1838, the present homestead was not bult until 1853, though its doorway bears the date of the taking up of the holding in 1838. The first dwelling used by them is still in existence. Mr. Currie came to Ercildoune in 1929, his fromer home having been Mount Elephant, in the Western District. Though my chief object in making my visit was to see the thoroughbreds, one fain must admit deriving as much pleasure in wandering about the beautiful old gardens. A perfect delight is an allotment of, I should guess, about an acre and a half surrounded by a sold grey stone wall about 8ft. in height. It is trisected by two splendid cypress lambertiana hedges, about 4ft. or 5ft. thick by about 12ft. in height. Piloted by Mrs Currie, I was charmed with the sight of a lovely rose garden in glorious bloom. Lady Hillingdons, M. Abel Chatenays, K. of K.’s, and a few others I was able to recognize, but Mrs. Currie, a keen flower lover, knew the lot….

The Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic.) 28 April 1928
VICTORIA’S COUNTRY TOWNS. Their Rise and Development. History of Ballarat. Excerpts – The first squatters arrived in 1838, and numbered in their front ranks the Learmonth Brothers, of Ercildoune; Wm. Yuille, who gave the names to Yuille’s Swamp, now Lake Wendouree; Winter, of the Bonshaw Estate; Russell of Carngham; Smythe of Smythe’s Creek; Creswick after Russell and Simson; and Darlot also held property there…

Pioneers of Buninyong. The pioneers of Buninyong were George Coleman and George Gab, and the latter’s wife had a favorite horse named Petrel, which she rode astride. T.L. and Somerville L. Learmonth formed a homestead on what came to be known as the Buninyong Gold Mining Co,’s ground in Buninyong…

The Learmonth brothers remained on their runs for many years, then let on a mining lease their pre-emptive property at Buninyong, ventured on mining at Egerton, and sold their Ercildoune run, famous for merino flocks, to Sir Samuel Wilson. In 1847, the Rev. Thomas Hastie, of the Presbyterian Church, and the first clergyman in the district, settled in Buninyong, and through the instrumentatlity of the Learmonths, established a church and school and boardinghouse for children of shepherds and other bush dwellers. The school was opened in 1848…

The Sunday Times (Perth WA) 13 May 1928
ERCILDOUNE STUD. HOME OF THE HISTORIC CAMDEN MERINO FLOCK – AFTER MANY WANDERINGS IN TWO STATES, by C. J. CRAIG. “During a recent visit to Victoria, I was afforded the opportunity of visiting the Ercildoune Estate in the Ballarat district, which is now owned by Major Alan Currie. Some time ago, Major Currie purchased the historic Camden merino flock, and the following notes from date supplied by Mr. Rupert Greene, will doubtless be interesting to those engaged in sheep-raising. The history of the Camden merino stud the oldest in Australia, perhaps in the world, may be of interest so students of fine wool sheep breeding, in view of the fact that a bale of wool from the stud was sold by Strachan, Murray, and Shannon, Ltd., in Geelong, on January 26, at 31½d a lb., and that many merino studs trace their origin to this source. The sheep from which the wool referred to was shown are now at Ercildoune near Ballarat, and the breeding flock numbers 130.

Foundation of the Flock. The flock was founded from stock imported from the Cape of Good Hope in 1797; whither a small flock of merino sheep of pure Spanish descent was sent from Holland by the Dutch Government. The stock were brought to Sydney by Captain Waterhouse. Of these, five rams and three ewes became the property of Captain John Macarthur. In 1803, Captain Macarthur visited England, and from Lord Camden and the Government of the day, he received encouragement to pursue the cultivation of fine wool in New South Wales. In 1804 he purchased several ewes and rams at the annual sale of George III’s merino stud at Kew and it is certain from the statement of his son, Sir William Macarthur, in 1866, that there was never any other than the blood of these two lots of sheep in the stud flock at Camden Park. When about to embark for the colony with the sheep purchased from the flock of George III, Captain Macarthur saw a paragraph in the papers stating that it was contrary to law to export sheep from England that subjected any vessel carrying them to forfeiture, and the persons sending the sheep to a fine and other penalties, such as “branding on the hand.” All difficulties were eventually overcome by Lord Camden, however, and two sheep were put on Board.

First Trek to Victoria. The subsequent history of the stud, part of which came to Victoria as told in “Australian Merino Studs.” By “Bruni,” who for sometime before his death wrote pastoral notes in “The Australasian.” In 1846, Mr. William Campbell brought a portion of the Camden stud overland from New South Wales. The sheep numbered 150 ewes and, a few rams. He kept the sheep for a short time at Strathloddon, and afterwards at Towral, near Clunes, where he received a number of rams from the original Camden flock, these being the only sheep added to the stud since Mr. Campbell had obtained his sheep from the parent flock. In 1850, the sheep were moved from Towral back to Strathloddon, but, owing to the gold discovery in 1851, the run was destroyed for pastoral purposes, and the flock was moved to Mt. Hope, where it was under the management of Mr. McDonald, formerly employed at Camden Park. In 1857, Mr. Campbell sold Mt Hope and the stud to Messrs. Griffiths and Greene. Shortly afterwards Mr. McKnight purchased the stud and moved it to Dunmore near Port Fairy, where owing to the unsuitability of the property for merino sheep the stud suffered greatly from foot-rot. After a year or two, Messrs. Griffiths and Greene repurchased the stud, and moved it to Glenmore, near Bacchus Marsh, which was taken to Auchmore, on the Torrick Plains, north of Bendigo. Mr. Campbell repurchased the flock with the assurance that it had been kept pure and unmixed. After remaining at Auchmore for some years, the stud was removed to a place known as the Banko Station near Booligal, in New South Wales. A severe drought set in, and the flock, consisting of 3,000 sheep, dwindled to 135 ewes and 25 rams.

Flock Again Moved to Victoria. In July, 1900, Mr. Thomas Shaw purchased what remained of the sheep and moved them to Wooriwyrite. When this property was sold in 1923, the Camden stud was purchased by Major Alan Currie and it is now at Ercildoune.

Throughout all its changes it has been kept free from admixture of other blood, and has been bred from within itself from the time Mr. Campbell brought the sheep from New South Wales in 1846. It had suffered much from neglect, mismanagement, and drought, but after it came into the hands of Mr Shaw, it advanced steadily. Owing to the extreme fineness of the wool, the average weight of fleece will not compare with that of the merino flocks of to-day. There are characteristics in the breed, however, which are of great interest. In spite of inbreeding for more than 100 years, the flock to-day is hardy. It seems to be immune from disease, and the ewes rear their lambs and thrive on a minimum amount of pasture. The sheep are small framed, light in the bone and very wild. The quality of their wool, their soft silky faces, and uniformity, all indicate the pure bred flock bred within itself without any infusion of foreign blood, since the year in which the sheep arrived in Australia.

The condition of this historic flock, which has been kept pure for more than a century, affords ample justification for the contention that the characteristics of both sire and dam, or either can, when they are scientifically mated, be traced through a merino flock for generations. Samples of this wool may be viewed at the offices of the Pastoralists’ Association, St. Georges-terrace. A sample of the wool has been sent to us, which for fineness, uniform crimping and high quality generally would be hard to beat in any part of the world.

The Portland Guardian (Vic.) 9 September 1929
An Historical Family. Mr. A. S. Kenyon has submitted the following interesting facts concerning the Learmonth family, well known in the district for many years past.

Dr. John Learmonth, born 1812, arrived January, 1838, died 1871, aged 59 years (married Anne McWhirter). Moorabool. Geelong, licensed and purchased numerous sections around Geelong and Gheringhap. Sold Mt. Mitchell to Robertson and Skene in 1843; held ….. and Wycheproof, September 1818 to 1858. Thomas Livingstone- Learmonth, born (Tas.?) May 2, 1818, married 1857 Louisa Valliant, who died February 1878, married again February, 1879 to Jane Reid, M. L. C. 1866; J.P. in Scotland; died 28th October, 1902. Somerville Livingstone Learmonth, born (Tas.?) 28th November, 1819, married 1860, died 4th August, 1879. Andrew James Livingstone Learmonth, born Lawrence Park, Stirlingshire, 1825; died Handford Blandford, Dorsetshire, 1892. The above as John, Thomas and Somerville Learmonth, later in 1845, as T. and S. Learmonth, and later still as Learmonth Bros., first occupied Weatherboard and Native Creek in May, 1837, then shifted to an occupied Boninyong, February, 1838, and held until end of pastoral times. Borrumbeet (or Burrumbeet) was occupied in June, 1838, and also, held until end; included for part time was Maiden Hills, and for all time Ercildoune, but separate licences were not taken out. Andrew had a separate run in grant 1844-45. The above appear to be sons of Thomas Learmonth of Lawrence Pk. Stirlingshire, Scotland, who died at Parkhall, Stirling, in 1869. Thomas, either Junr. or Senr., was partner with George McKillop, Hobart in 1853…

The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate (NSW) 20 September 1929
WOOL INDUSTRY. PROGRESS IN AUSTRALIA. CAPT. MACARTHUR’S WORK. The story of the inauguration of the wool industry of Australia is a very fascinating one. Upon delving into past records it is found that sheep came to Australia, or rather New South Wales, with the first fleet in 1788, but there was no thought of their being used for the purpose of wool production, their presence being due solely to the need of fresh meat supplies. In May of that year there were in the infant colony 29 sheep; they did not, however, thrive on the rank grass; some died, some were killed by dogs and in September on one remained. Sheep for the food supply were replenished from the Cape and Bengal. The first sheep-breeding experiment in Australia was the crossing of Bengal ewes with Cape rams, the result being that “a lamb six weeks old was as big as one of the old ewes.” In 1790 Captain John Macarthur arrived in Sydney, and his flock was founded with 30 ewes; in 1795 he had a flock of 1000 head. The Rev. Samuel Marsden started his flock in 1796. In 1800 Macarthur sent to England in H.M.S. Buffalo eight sample fleeces for the inspection and report of Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society of England. The First fleece was declared to be of real Spanish breed, very good, and worth 4/ per lb. The fleece of a ram bred by Macarthur was stated to be “nearly as good as the King’s Spanish wool at Oaklands, quite free from hair, of excellent quality, and worth 5/ per lb. Could the colony produce such kinds of wool it would be a great acquisition to our manufactory in England.” Macarthur visited England in 1803 and delivered an address at the office of Lord Hobart, in which he dwelt on the suitability of the Australian pastures, showed the wonderful improvement in his flocks, and claimed to have produced wool superior to many of the wools of Spain. He asked for a grant of land sufficient for his increasing flocks, and received a grant of 5000 acres and was “indulged with the services of not less than 30 convicts.” Subsequently his grant was increased to 10,000 acres. From the Royal Stud at Kew, England, Macarthur bought at auction in 1804 eight sheep, at prices ranging from £8/15/ to 27 guineas, and they were placed in his flock at Camden. By this time, Macarthur had over 4000 sheep, and his operations were then on a larger scale than his contemporary pioneers. It is interesting to note the reason, which induced Captain Macarthur to choose Camden Park as the site of his sheep property. It appears that some cattle had ben lost in the days of Governor Hunter, and had strayed into the country away from Sydney. They were subsequently discovered at Mt. Taurus, and the place became known as “Cow Pastures.” Macarthur decided that he could not do better than select this as the site of his grant, as the cattle could naturally select the pastures best suited to them. The land proved to be rich and suitable for sheep, and the “Cow Pastures” became the cradle of the Australian wool industry. Macarthur died, and was buried at Camden Park in 1834; the property is still in the possession of his descendants, General Macarthur-Onslow having his home there.
DESCENDANTS OF THE FLOCK. It is a far cry from the early pioneering days of last century, but it is very interesting to know that two small flocks exist to-day, which are the purebred descendants of the Macarthur sheep. One of these is maintained by the family of the pioneer, at Camden Park, and the other is owned by Major Alan Currie, at Ercildoune, Ballarat, Victoria. It is interesting to note that wool from the former flock realized 24¾d per lb. in March 1928, whilst in January of that year the Ercildoune wool realized at Geelong sales up to 31d per lb. At the present time there are over 100,000,000 sheep in the Commonwealth, over half of that number being pastured in the State of New South Wales, which is generally regarded as possessing some of the finest flocks in the world. Sydney is the principal wool-selling centre, not only of Australia, but also of the world. The largest buyer of Australasian wool is the United Kingdom, with France, Germany, and Japan following in that order. Although wool prices have recently shown a tendency towards a lower level, it is hoped that the movement is but a temporary one, and that the new season’s clip, when offered for auction, will meet a steadier market – “Mutual Provident Messenger.”

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 17 May 1930
FROM TIME TO TIME. IN STRICT CONFIDENCE By DONALD MACDONALD. Excerpt – I had always been interested in Bungaree from the time I first heard of it – a boy sitting about the fireplace on winter nights, hearing tales of how my grandfather, greatly daring, rode out from Buninyong in search of new sheep country and through that very forest, dank, silent, and sinister, more than 90 years ago. He found the Yuilles, who had prospected with some sense of prophecy yet missed the reward, for they were squatting imperturbably right over the golden millions that were afterwards Ballarat. He went hence along the Divide, until, looking down upon the pleasant meadows, which immediately became Ercildoune, he paraphrased another pioneer with the thought, “This will be the place for a Homestead.”

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 12 July 1930
DEER-HUNTING IN VICTORIA. SAMBAR AND FALLOW. By Tom Fisher. In a recent issue of “Bush Notes” I read with very great interest some inquiries about the deer of different breeds, which many years ago were established in various parts of Victoria. As one born and bred upon Ercildoune I could hardly fail to be interested in the many acclimatization experiments which so strongly appealed both to Sir Samuel Wilson and to the Learmonths, who were the first owners. Each had an ambition to establish not only those things of fin, fur and feather, which appeal to the shooting man and angler, but also animals of industrial value. So the Learmonths had both Llama and alpaca in the early days, while Sir Samuel Wilson brought out ostriches, which bred freely enough, and were afterwards sent away to an ostrich farm in South Australia. The first owners also brought Murray fishes to the south of the Divide in tanks fixed upon drays, but I cannot recall them as a success. Sir Samuel Wilson’s experiments with salmon and trout are well known, but not many people are aware that the game birds which he introduced to Ercildoune included English pheasants and partridges and Californian quail. In my infancy, and long before Sir Samuel Wilson came into possession of Ercildoune, both the Indian Sambar and the British fallow deer had a good footing upon its once wide pastures – the Sambar chiefly among the hills. The fallow deer, distinguishable by that beam pattern of antler, which we see in American elk or moose, were more numerous, and aparently less suspicious, though in springtime the stags were inclined to be rather vicious. They might have prospered long and have further multiplied and spread, had they not become a nuisance just when Mr. Andrew Learmonth commenced to plan and plant the famous garden which was such a picturesque feature of the old in late years. It quickly came to a question of giving up the garden or of getting rid of the fallow deer, and I remember well the morning when my father was called upon to shoot the last of them upon a newly formed lawn.

UPLAND SAMBAR. As I have said, the larger Sambar, with their lion-like mane and very fine heads, kept to the rocky heights where they were first turned down, and found the land so much to their liking that when Sir Samuel Wilson bought Ercildoune it had two separate herds of Sambar, numbering about 100 head of deer, scattered over the hill country, especially on the northern and western sides. Many of them had gone over to the Lexton Ranges and the Pyrenees. Even in those early days Sambar were often seen as far out as the Mt. Cole Ranges and beyond Ararat. Some 20 years ago, when I was liberating trout from the Ercildoune ponds in the Grampians, I saw the skin of a Sambar which had been recently shot; Mr. Tom Cumming, who was caretaker at the inflow, told me that he had seen many of the same deer in the locality, the general belief being that the Sambar had ranged into the Grampians via Mount Cole, which seems to me a likely theory. As late as 1908 or 1909 Mr. Dunn of Raglan, shot several Sambar on his property, and brought one very fine head over to Captain Wilson to hang in the hall at Ercildoune. I then heard of a great many Sambar at Mt. Cole. It was indirectly the rabbit that destroyed or drove off the last of the Sambar deer upon Ercildoune, but all that happened before 1900. As soon as rabbit destruction became an urgent matter, and the rabbiters went roving abroad with their mixed packs, everything else but killing rabbits was of minor importance. The deer were not only hunted by the dogs, but secretly shot by rabbiters, who could always get a ready sale for a good stag’s head and occasionally also for a carcass of venison. The deer seemed to have a special fascination for the big lurcher type of dog so often used in the rabbit packs, and when one of those sighted a deer nothing could turn him off it until he had killed it, perhaps in a swamp or dam, after a few miles of hard run. Occasionally the lurcher had the worst of the Sambar’s last stand and paid for his sport with his life.

THE LAST STAG. From the days of Sir George Bowen to the time when Lord Hopetoun was Governor or Victoria, many Vice-regal parties came to Ercildoune for a deer shoot, and it was Lady Hopetoun, afterwards Marchioness of Linlithgow, who in fair sport shot the last Sambar stag that was got upon Ercildoune. Many a tiring day we station boys had in driving the deer for such a shoot, and it was always a real sporting affair, the shooters content with two or three stags, and never a doe in any circumstances. Nor was the venison ever wasted, and I have no doubt that many a fine old head and antlers got at Ercildoune in those memorable days may still be found about Melbourne. Red deer were tried on two occasions at Ercildoune. The first lot of three came direct from Scotland, but unfortunately the stag – a noble specimen – had his leg broken on shipboard. To save him the ship’s doctor amputated the leg near the hock, and the stage made a good recovery. When it was brought to Ercildoune they tried the novel experiment of making an artificial wooden leg for it, and I remember very well the day the stag was chloroformed and fitted with his wooden leg. It was not a happy notion, because on recovering from the anaesthetic the fine old fellow simply went mad with fright, and breaking his leg a second time, had to be shot. On being let out into the yard prepared for them one of the does cleared the ten-foot fence in one bound and made off to the hills. The other poor doe could never be tempted to eat, and I am convinced that she just fretted to death. The second lot of three were brought over from Mr. George Russell’s Langi Willan Estate, and were about the hills for four years. Then with two fawns they suddenly disappeared, and these were, I think, the last deer seen upon Ercildoune. I think it very likely that the spotted red deer of the Grampians which were mentioned in “Bush Notes” were from Longerenong, for it was while he owned that property that Sir Samuel Wilson was so keenly interested in the acclimatization of deer and other animals, and very often in later years he spoke to me of the efforts he had made in that direction. The next time I saw Sambar was at Warburton about eight or nine years ago, and I was told that there was a fair number of them along the valley of the Don. One thing that may save them from the killers’ car and the kind of “sportsman” who so often occupies it, to whom, stag, doe, and fawn have much the same meaning, is that the Sambar makes for the highest peaks, keeps as much to cover as possible by day and only feeds at night. There is nothing too high for them in the eastern peaks of Victoria, for in their native Himalayan hills they range to an altitude of 10,000ft. in summer. The opposite in habit – though often in company – with the Sambar are the little Indian hog deer, of which along the valley of the Latrobe I saw often the sign and frequently came upon the lair, which one of these little fellows had occupied. They are short-legged deer, seldom more than 2 ft. high at the shoulder, but nearly double that length. The antlers are usually only a foot long, and 18in. is an exceptional trophy. Up to six months the fawns are spotted, and even in the adult this little deer puts on a spotted coat every summer. They like the valleys and plains for a pasture, and it is rare to find even two of them in company, and then only in the mating seasons. My belief is that the axis deer, sometimes mentioned, is better known as the Indian chital or spotted deer, the stags of which are about 3ft. high at the shoulder, with antlers 30in. long. The usual colour is a bright reddish-brown, spotted all over with white and they become lighter in colour as they age. Unlike the fallow deer, which lose their spots in winter, the chitral or axis, keep their coat through the years. Like the hog deer, they prefer the lowlands and especially thick scrub by the waterside. Whenever rabbits become plentiful, as in the Grampians, I think it is likely that they may have starved out the deer, which would soon find “rabbit-sick” country much to their dislike. (Interesting fact – Sambar are quick to recover from adversity – when a female loses a calf to a predator, she immediately comes into oestrous, and produced another offspring within 8 months.)

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 5 May 1934
THE LEARMONTHS OF ERCILDOUNE – By Stanley Moore. Among the leading pastoral pioneering families of Victoria, there is none with a more romantic history than that of the Livingstone Learmonth’s. Their early seat was the Rhymer’s Tower, near the Scottish border, and Thomas the Rhymer was the first figure in their family to become famous. Mary Livingstone, one of the bevy of Mary’s, who surrounded Mary Queen of Scots, as maids of honour, was another member of the family who has her place in history. Lastly, there is the famous African explorer. Thomas Livingstone Learmonth sailed to Hobart Town from Calcutta in 1835. His four sons, Thomas, Somerville, Andrew, and John, shortly afterwards became interested in Port Phillip. They shipped 3,000 sheep to the colony, and took part in the pioneering of the Barwon, Moorabool, Buninyong, and Mt. Emu districts. In August 1837, they were in the expedition that explored the country round Buninyong. In another expedition they crossed the Wardy Yalloak and came across the hill, which they named Mt. Elephant. From Mt. Elephant they struck across to Cloven Hills, then they crossed the Pirron Yalloak, and returned to Geelong. Undertaking a third expedition in January 1838, they travelled from Macedon over the Coliban to Mt. Alexander. They reached the Loddon, and, turning, crossed the site of Bendigo. From there they struck south-west till they reached the site of Ballarat. After leaving that spot a curious thing happened to the party. After a long march, they were without water at nightfall, and they could find none in the country about them. Feeling thirsty and dispirited, they named the hill in the vicinity Mt. Misery. The weather was cold, and they kept a fire burning during the night. To prevent it from going out, one of the party got up during the night, and went off to look for wood. In the course of searching, he suddenly stumbled into a small stream, which yielded the much-desired water. From this point they struck back to the Barwon. As an outcome of these expeditions the brothers removed their flocks from the Barwon to the Buninyong district. They called their station Ercildoune, after an old place on the Scottish border. They struggled successfully through the pastoral depression of 1842-3. As a consequence of this depression, when sheep fell from 30/ to 1/6 a head, they established at Ercildoune a great boiling-down plant, which extracted from the carcasses of sheep the tallow, which had become more valuable than mutton. The liquid by-products from the plant were used to irrigate certain crops with splendid results. The Learmonths took part in the mining operations of the gold rush period. But their special claim to distinction lies in the very fine quality of the merino wool they grew. In 1848 they first formed the Ercildoune stud that later became famous. It was of pure Saxony merinos of the Furlonge blood. By later purchases Camden and Mona Vale strains were added to the original Furlonge. The stud came to be recognized as one of the best in Australia. Rams were sent from Ercildoune to every Australian colony, and to New Zealand and South Africa. In 1869 Ercildoune won the highest recognition up till that time awarded to any stud in Australia. The Learmonths gained the open prize for the best ram against all comers. This was the blue-ribbon of sheep-breeding. In London, Paris, and New York, their selected show wools were rarely beaten. The first part of the Homestead at Ercildoune was built in 1858. In 1866 the upper storey was added, and additions were made later. The design followed the type of architecture, which is common on the Scottish border. The materials were granite and bricks. The granite was quarried on the property and the bricks were made on the spot by the builders. The feature of the house is its gables. The façade of the building consists of three pointed gables, one greater and two lesser. It is half-covered with green creepers, and faces a fine ornamental lake. From the house shrub-studded lawns slope gently down to the water. Swans, rushes, and water-lilies decorate the lake, and on the other three sides of the house a picturesque dense clump of eucalyptus and other trees surround it. All about is open rolling country studded with gum trees. Recently, Mr. Somerville Learmonth a son of one of the brothers, who founded Ercildoune, had a stone taken from Rhymer’s Tower, near Melrose in Scotland, and sent to Mr. Alan Currie, the present owner of Ercildoune. Mr. Currie has had it inscribed and built into the wall of the house.

In 1872 the Learmonths sold Ercildoune to Sir Samuel Wilson, a conspicuous figure in the later period of Victorian wool-growing. At various periods, he owned Longerenong, Greenhills, Mt. Bute, Corangamite, Trawalla, and Woodlands stations. During his time, Ercildoune was famous for its sale of surplus ewes. Great hospitality was extended to buyers, and drovers gathered there from all parts of the country. After the Great War, in which two of Sir Samuel’s sons were killed, Ercildoune was sold by him to the Government. It was immediately resold by the Government to Mr. Alan Currie, who had sold to the State his own station, Mt. Elephant, on condition that he could buy Ercildoune. Of the 12,000 acres to which the station had been reduced at that time, Mr. Currie sold back to the State 4,000 acres, and retained 8,000. The present owner, Mr. Currie, has made energetic attempts to settle English ex-Army officers and others on grazing and irrigation lands in Victoria, and has worthily carried on the great work of the Ercildoune stud in maintaining the high quality of Victorian merino wool. There is now at that stud a flock of pure Camden Merinoes descending directly from Macarthur’s first flock. Although they have passed through the hands of a number of owners since Macarthur’s day, they have been kept pure, and were bought by Mr. Currie in 1924. All the old furniture, books and relics from the earliest days of the Learmonths are still at Ercildoune; and the library contains interesting material connected with the early history of Victoria.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 5 November 1925
WILLOWS FROM ST. HELENA. TO THE EDITOR OF THE ARGUS. Sir, A correspondent some time ago asked whether it was true that many of the willows in Victoria came from cuttings of the willows around Napoleon’s grave in St. Helena. Years ago Mr. Thomas Learmonth, who founded Ercildoune Station, near Ballarat, told me that when the ship chartered by himself and his brothers, stopped for water at St. Helena they went to the tomb and cut “walking sticks” from the willows there, and these they kept alive and finally planted round the lake at Ercildoune, where the fine trees are still to be seen. I have always understood that cuttings from these trees were taken and planted along the banks of the Yarra. Mr. Learmonth arrived at Port Phillip on April 1, 1837. – Yours, &c., M. Malvern, Nov. 2.

The Australian Home Beautiful 1 February 1929
SOME NOTABLE AUSTRALIAN HOMES. No. 1 – “Ercildoune,” the residence of Major and Mrs. Alan Currie. By Frank Walker. Ninety years ago the western half of Victoria was an unexplored field – a field ripe for adventure, full of promise for those gifted with the vision to foresee, and the hardiness to pursue, the magic lure of untold wealth lying in the folds of its hills, spread over its open plains, and hidden beneath the soil in its rich quartz veins. Adventures come to the adventurous, and the first of the pioneers may well have sought adventure for adventure’s sake. These hardy young men could scarcely have imagined the rapidity with which civilization was to come crowding upon their difficult and toilsome steps, and that in a few short years the discovery of gold was to turn a pastoral holding into an Eldorado such as their most sanguine dreams would never have foretold. Adventures they had in plenty, and they were coupled with hardships, which we of today, with our good roads and rapid transport, can scarcely conceive. Pioneers are of two types: Your restless adventurer whose vision lies always just over the hill, just beyond the horizon: who hears the call and feels the resistless urge to go on and on, blazing the trail, viewing the promised land, but never occupying it. And the other, the builder who follows the dreamer: who occupies the land, builds its habitation, and in time goes on establishes a home and an industry. When in 1836 Mr Livingstone Learmonth took possession of that stretch of country, which he named Ercildoune, he showed himself the possessor of wonderful knowledge of the possibilities of the place, and later manifested his genuine love of the country when those possibilities were put to such admirable use. From the very first, a wise discrimination was shown in the general layout of the property, the choosing of the site for the Homestead, the generous planting of trees, and the making of roads. So much so that as time went on and wants increased, none of the original work needed to be discarded, the continued improvements being rather an amplification of what had already served so well. The careful foresight proved of great value when the house came to be built. The situation is almost ideal. The house stands on a slight eminence overlooking the fertile valley to the south. To the north behind the building the ground rises first in gentle slopes covered with fine timber, then more abruptly to an imposing tor of granite, with its rugged outcrop of huge boulders towering aloft above the trees. On the east side a clear running stream has made possible the beautification of a garden, one feature of which is an extensive lake. This lake links up with a series of ponds, connected with the hatcheries from which so many of our trout streams have been stocked. To a lover of nature the trees of his homeland will ever make a great appeal. Some of our noblest avenues had their small beginnings in plants and seedlings carefully nurtured through the long voyage that lay between the old country and Australia in the early days. With the passion for planting shared by so many of his fellow countrymen, Mr Learmonth planted generously, and planted well. The truly magnificent avenue of cedar and pine trees, the Scotch firs and larches, the yews with their sombre stateliness, the cedars of Lebanon, the many towering pines, and branching oaks and elms, all set out in profusion about wide-spreading lawns, combine to make a surrounding to the house and garden arresting in its beauty. The inspiration of an artist must have suggested the retaining of the natural features of the place, and mingling them with the exotic to grow together in so happy a combination. The pittosporums, bunyahs, blackwoods, and acacias grow along with the trees of the old world. The fine old gum trees make a splendid foil and protection to their planted neighbours, and carry the garden out beyond all bounds into the open country. The boulders of granite, which give the hill its rugged outline have been hewn out and dressed into shape for building the house. With its thick walls and massive tower, its high pitched roofs, tall chimneys and battlemented parapets, it is reminiscent of Scotland’s feudal days; but the granite is from the nearby hills, the bricks and tiles are of Australian clay, and the water flows from the creek which is fed so freely from the hills beyond. A house never so truly belongs as when it is built of what lies about it, and the judicious use of local materials has been a considerable factor. The granite of which the house is built is of a warm grey and silver tone. The building stands out in sharp relief against a forest of pine and fir trees, and when a shaft of sunlight catches the walls they gleam like silver against their velvety green background. In front of the house are wide lawns set with gold elms, copper beeches, fine oak trees and venerable cedars and firs. The big flower-beds are gay with hollyhocks and lupins, delphiniums, phloxes, lilies and antirrhinums. The lake, starred with water lilies, is to the east of the lawn, and beyond this lies the rose garden. Towards the west is the croquet lawn, and here an interesting feature is an old well-head, which was excavated in Palestine and brought in perfect preservation to its new abode. It is the colour of desert sand, with a peculiar mottled surface and a texture like marble. The hand wrought iron hoist is of ecclesiastical design, and would have been quite at home in the garden of an old monastery. Around the croquet lawn are some stone figures, which might well have come from Holland with William and Mary. They are very quaint, and their old world air is in keeping with the formal treatment of this part of the garden. Beyond the Dutch garden a finely wrought iron gate gives access to the walled garden. Massive granite walls of great height make a perfect shelter for the growth of flowers. They bloom in profusion on every side. Great border of delphiniums and larkspur, floxgloves, hollyhocks. lilies, roses, antirrhinums, scabious and verbenas. Climbing roses, vines and fruit trees are trained against the stone-walls, from which their blossoms hand in countless beautiful sprays. This walled garden is divided into three parts by close-clipped cypress hedges. Wide arches cut in the hedge lead from one enclosure to another, and the vistas through the archways across the lawn with its stone sundial are very satisfying. When approaching the house it is interesting to notice over the porch the date 1838 carved in the keystone of the arch. The porch is tiled with black and white marble and leads directly into the entrance hall. The hall is well lighted and the oak parquetry floor is a good foil to the richly coloured Persian rugs. At the far end, a curtained archway leads to a lofty circular recess, with the balustrade of the upper landing showing around it. From the glass roof of the upper floor the light shines down upon a grouping of hothouse plants and flowers, and brings into prominence a bronze Chinese lantern of great size hanging under the dome. To the left access to the upper floor is by a staircase of a kind associated with old Georgian houses.

FROM OTHER LANDS. The photograph conveys some idea of the interest that lies in the hall. On the walls are pictures and engravings of historic value. Paintings of Villiers-Bretonneux and Ypres are associated with events so recent as to have lost none of their tragic significance. Trophies of the Great War are assembled beneath Wylie’s vivid painting – simple memorials of a great sacrifice. Here is the head of a rhinoceros shot in Africa, and here a heavy twofold screen made from rhinoceros hide – the panels resembling petrified wood, are of such weight and rigidity that they stand along without support or frame. Through the glass doors under the staircase is a delightful vista into a courtyard framed in green. On the first landing are some tall marble vases and urns of uncommon merit, and from the long corridor above the bedrooms open. The drawing room is of good proportions, the dominant impression being of light and colour. The ceiling is ivory-coloured, and the walls are the mellow tint of vellum. A thick pile carpet of leaf-green covers the whole of the floor, and is in pleasing accord with the beautiful old watered silk green curtains at the windows. The embrasures of the windows and the sashes are painted white, and there are white blinds. This unusual treatment results in a soft radiation of light from the windows, which is extremely delicate in tone. Colour and life are introduced in the richly tinted furnishings and fabrics and the many beautiful objects the room contains. The sofas and chairs are covered with a rose-flowered chintz on a ground of ivory white. Bowls and vases of flowers shading from rich rose to pale pink are on every hand. A magnificent Chinese screen in a warm rose and copper and gold lacquer is a rare specimen of an almost extinct art. Gilded Chippendale mirrors, a Chippendale cabinet filled with the rarest of Chinese china, pieces of Royal Crown Derby china, exquisite ivories, miniatures, coloured prints, books and photographs are assembled in delightful profusion. Charm is an elusive quality, but it has certainly been captured in this room. In the dining room are the old rose silk brocade curtains, which have been there for many years, and the carpet of the same lovely colour. The walls have been papered in harmony, and this rosy interior forms an appropriate setting for fine pieces of Chippendale and Sheraton furniture. The mahogany regimental dining table is of unusual design, and the chairs are perfect specimens of the craftsman’s art. The silver sporting trophies have their stores to tell of hard-earned victories, and on the walls are paintings of horses of renown, among them Pyrrhus II, one of the earliest of Derby winners, painted by Barraud about 1848. The library is obviously the room of a busy man. It is designed primarily for work – also for the rest, which pleases so greatly after toil. The walls are lined with books housed in Sheraton cases of mahogany. A beautiful effect is produced by the orange light, across the green and clay coloured carpet, the whole room lighting up with a glow of warmth and colour.

PRESERVING THE TRADITIONS. Passing from room to room, one is impressed by the way in which the traditions of Ercildoune have been maintained. Its history is told in the pictures on the walls, the books and records in the library, the beautiful furnishings of the rooms – their different periods bearing witness to the many changes of style and fashion which have come about during the lifetime of the house – and in the glorious garden with its venerable trees and evidence of generations of loving care. The best of each period has been cherished with freshness, and a beauty of life and colour, which blends into an all-pervading atmosphere of serenity.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 20 February 1932
PASTORAL. ERCILDOUNE (V.). By R.V.B. NO. I. A PASTORAL ROMANCE. The march of progress – a hackneyed phrase often implying development on lines unsound and costly – has caused the breaking up of most of the old pastoral freeholds and the obliteration of interesting landmarks. This march of progress has dispersed and destroyed many priceless flocks from which sprang our principal primary wealth, and even the efficient methods employed by the great stock-breeders of earlier times have largely been forgotten or replaced by other practices sometimes less effective if not harmful in their results. Nevertheless a few of the old properties still remain, though much reduced in size. Some of them are occupied by descendants of leading pioneers. Around all these properties there lingers the fascinating atmosphere of romance. When visiting any of them, one can scarcely fail to allow his reflections free play among the events of the past. An old building, the ruins of a sheep-washing plant, or other relics, kept there, perhaps, for the sake of associations with other days, seem to lay open the pages of early colonial life, of pastoral enterprise with its lively ups and downs, of the rich rewards and heavy penalties, when all the pioneers, the successes and the failures, helped to plant the British nation of Australia. Of such properties there are few richer in historic interest than Ercildoune, near Burrumbeet (V.). In the library here there are almost complete records from the days of the first discovery of Port Phillip till the gold rushes and after. Material there is in abundance about the amazing progress of wool production, of the cattle industry, through the so-called squatting period till the bitter controversies which resulted in the Land Acts of Nicholson, Duffy, and Grant, but to refer in more than passing terms to these phases would be beyond the scope of these articles. One cannot, however, write about this Ercildoune in Victoria without recalling the Livingstone-Learmonths and the eminence they reached in the science of sheep-breeding. For centuries some families have been closely linked with adventure and romance, and it would appear that the Livingstone-Learmonths were in this category. In their direct line were Thomas the Rhymer, Mary Livingstone, the favourite maid of Mary Queen of Scots; the great African explorer, and other figures known to history.

EXPLORATION TRIPS. The settlement and exploration trips of these pioneers in Australia were frequently referred to by them, as interesting adventures. Thomas Livingstone-Learmonth came to Hobart Town from Calcutta in 1835. His four sons, Thomas, Somerville, John, and Andrew, became interested in Port Phillip. They shipped to the new colony three cargoes of sheep aggregating 3,000. They were concerned in the first occupation of the Barwon, Moorabool, Buninyong, and Mount Emu districts. In August 1837, two of them joined an expedition to explore the country round Buninyong. With another expedition they traversed the country across the Wardy Yalloak to Mount Elephant, which they named; then went to the Cloven Hills and returned to Geelong over the Pirron Yaloak. In January, 1838, with a third exploration party, they went from Macedon over the Coliban to Mt. Alexander, thence to the Loddon, south-west to the future site of Bendigo, south-west over the site of Ballarat, and across to point which they called Mount Misery, returning to the Barwon; but from the Barwon, where they found themselves “too confined,” the young Livingstone-Learmonths removed their flocks to the Buninyong locality, and thus came to establish Ercildoune. These pioneers were interested in most of the activities of the young colony, in several other properties, as well as in mining adventures during the gold boom period; but it is by the foremost place they won in the wool world through the high standard of their merino sheep that their name is most deep impressed upon the early historical records of this country. The sheep brought from Van Diemen’s Land in 1837 rapidly increased, and by other purchases a large flock was soon accumulated; but it was not till 1848 that the famous Ercildoune stud was formed. The foundation was pure Saxony merinoes known as the Furlonge blood. The following year Thomas Shaw, upon who expert advice the Livingstone-Learmonths frequently relied, obtained for them some Mona Vale (T.) rams, and other pure Camden rams were added – Camden, Furlonge, and Mona Vale, the very essence of the choice merino strains. Camden and Macarthur will always live conspicuous in the annals of this country. The Furlonge – or more correctly, the Templeton – sheep, no less important than the Camdens in the development of the fine-wool industry, recall a most amazing example of sustained fortitude and enterprise on the part of two Scottish women. There was romance as well in the plans financed and directed by Mrs. Janet Templeton for the expeditions of her daughter, Mrs. Furlonge, and grandsons to Germany to secure the best pure merinoes money could buy, the successful droving of their purchases across Europe in the face of exceptional difficulties, taking them over to England, the ultimate transfer of the Templeton and Furlonge families and their sheep to Australia, and the influence their sheep had upon the fine-wool flocks of this country. Nor were any breeders better known than the Kermodes, who founded the Mona Vale stud in 1829, and brought it to a place equal to the best in the world.

DISPOSAL OF PROPERTY. So these were the foundations of the Ercildoune merino stud, and there is little wonder that by skill and care it came to be one of the most valuable in Australia. Rams from this stud were sent to every colony. Some went to New Zealand, some to Africa, and some to other countries. On the show floors the Ercildoune sheep were always at the top or near it. At the intercolonial show of merino sheep held in Melbourne in 1868, the most important in Australia to that time, Ercildoune won the supreme award for the best ram against all comers. This was acclaimed as the highest tribute till then conferred on any sheep breeder in Victoria. These breeders also sent wool, not a few fleeces, but bales, to exhibitions in London, Paris and New York, as well as to the local shows, and wools grown by them were rarely beaten.

Part of the Ercildoune house was built in 1858; about eight years later the upper story was added, and later still the back portion was built. The design is typical of the Scottish border architecture. The builders were their own architects, the bricks made on the property; the granite was taken from the hill close by. With the pointed gables and stone set on, there are few more picturesque structures than this, nor are there many as enduring. Recently a stone taken from the Rhymer’s tower, which dates to the 11th century, at Earlston, near Melrose, was sent by Mr. Somerville Learmonth, a son of one of the pioneers, to the present owner, who is having it inscribed and built into the wall of the house to add to the interest of the place and perpetuate the memory of the founders of the locality. In 1872, the Ercildoune property, with all stock, plant, furniture, books, and relics, was sold to Sir Samuel Wilson, another impressive figure in Australian pastoral and public life. Sir Samuel also possessed Longernong, Greenhills, Corangamite, Marathon, and Mt. Bute in Victoria; Yanco and other properties in New South Wales, and he had some holdings in Queensland. Longernong and Greenhills he sold before acquiring Ercildoune. After the South African war the Wilson family’s interest in Australia gradually diminished. One of Sir Samuel’s sons was killed in that war, and another was badly and permanently wounded. Two other sons, one of whom was a leading polo player in England, were killed simultaneously in the Great War, and about 12 years ago negotiations were entered into for the sale of Ercildoune to the Government. Mr. Currie was approached to offer Mt. Elephant to the Government at the same time, and he said he would sell provided he could obtain Ercildoune. Arrangements were thereupon made for him to purchase Ercildoune, then reduced to about 12,800 acres, and he retained a square block of 7,400 acres round the house, letting the Government authorities have the farming land of about 5,400 acres at their own figure, which was much lower than the market value of the land at the time.

The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld.) 5 October, 1933
Valuable Sheep Arrive. The arrival by the City of Brisbane of a large number of valuable merinos from the Lara flock, Victoria, was announced, also Messrs. Kent and Wienholt received 49 ewes and eight rams from the celebrated Ercildoun flock of Messrs. Learmonth, in the same colony. The Ercildoun property had recently changed hands for the enormous sum of a quarter of a million, and some idea of the reason, for such a great purchase price, for a comparatively small property, might be formed from the fact that the 57 sheep imported by Messrs. Kent and Wienholt cost £1300 landed at Brisbane. The Ercildoun sheep had long stood unrivalled as the merino par excellence of Australia. Those just imported from the pure stud, bred in by Messrs. Learmonth without any interchange of blood whatever for the last 30 years.

Smiths Weekly (Sydney, NSW) March 3, 1934
FOUNDERS OF AUSTRALIA’S PRICELESS HERITAGE. THE COMING OF THE SHEPHERD KINGS. Names that are Moulded into Our History. GENESIS OF THE WOOL-BROKING FIRMS. The Shepherd Kings of Australia occupy a most astonishing position. In hardly more than a century they have built up a world empire, of wool. The story of the merino in Australia dates from the time when Captain John Macarthur, of Sydney, produced wool equal to the finest product of Saxony, and commanding 16/4 per lb., a price never previously known in wool history. From the beginning, Australian owners have gone from triumph to triumph, their sheep superseding older wool producers, until to-day they, and the nation, hold a priceless heritage. Flocks are registered at 110,000,000, giving nine hundred million lbs. of wool. This is just double the world’s average. In the very early days sheep carried 3 or 4lb. fleeces. First-class flocks in a good season now will yield fleeces of 12 or 13lbs., with the ram wools reaching as high as 40lbs. The increase has proceeded by scientific measures of breeding, by selection and culling, and in proportion reflects tremendous credit on the flock masters. Excerpts – To write of the pioneers of the sheep and wool industry as in Victoria is like producing an epic. The struggle with the elements was of a titanic nature. Fire and flood assailed them, droughts worked their havoc. Not all won through, but many made good their footing. The Hentrys landed at Portland the first sheep of the flocks, brought from Tasmania, when it took nearly three weeks to cross the strait. Batman and Fawkner followed with their possessions. After Major Mitchell’s report of the felicitous conditions, influx set in from Sydney… Russell was with the earliest comers and settled on Barunale Plains, his family afterwawrds accumulating great properties, Langi Willi, Carngham, and others. Livingstone Learmonth went to Ercildoune, and built the historic homes, selling to Sir Samuel Wilson, who owned Longerenong and Yanco, and pursued the grass as far as Queensland. The Wilson family and estate became absorbed in the British nobility by marriage…

The Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic.) 14 July 1934
Stately Country Home. A patch of old England, with a touch of Scotland, nestling beside hills and lakes, will greet the Duke of Gloucester when he visits Mr and Mrs Alan Currie at their beautiful home, “Ercildoune,” near Ballarat. “Ercildoune” combines a sheep and cattle station of 8000 acres, as well as a stud of thoroughbred horses. There the Duke will find a variety of sport, including riding, shooting, swimming, fishing and tennis. “Ercidloune” is itself almost due for a centenary. The original building, of two rooms, was erected in 1838 by the Livingston Learmonths, and still remains beside the present home, which was commenced shortly afterwards. The whole building is of grey granite, dug out of the hills, and bricks made on the property, and is modelled on a house near Earlston (or Ercildoune) in Scotland. The Livingston Learmonths were direct descendants of Thomas the Rhymer, and the tower on the right of the house is a reproduction of the Rhymer’s Tower at Earlston. The trees of Ercildoune are almost as old as its stone and mortar. Huge planes, more than 100ft. tall, behind the house, were brought out in pots from Britain 96 years ago. Successive shiploads brought out precious cargo of garden plants, and antique furniture and fittings for the house – old steel grates, Chippendale chairs and mirrors, walnut cabinets, Adams mantelpieces, oak tallboys and valuable china.

A Glimpse of Persia. One Chippendale is probably unique in Australia. It looks from one end of the drawing room to an antique oval mirror that reflects it at the other end. Chinese screens of ruby lacquer are of great value, and one of the outstanding beauties of the interior decoration is the Persian rug in the hall, made of nine prayer mats joined together. It was handworked in all its beautiful blues and greens and vermillion by Persian women long ago. There is also some beautiful old silver; and oils and water colours collected over many years include works by great masters. In keeping with Ercildoune’s age is the library – a complete historical record of Australian literature collected partly by the original owners, and kept up by Mr Currie, who has added considerably to its shelves.

Picturesque Views. From its large windows “Ercildoune” looks out over one of the loveliest views from any homestead window in Australia. The eye takes in a group of lakes stretching away into the hills: a rose-garden with a granite wall, probably unique in this country; a beautiful swimming pool; a huge expanse of law, sweeping past Engish and Australian trees in a glorious mixture of British and colonial greens; and undulating pastures and wooded hills, wonderful country for riding. Its fishing is one of the prides of “Ercildoune,” which had the first trout hatchery in the State. The trout, in fact, arrived much as Royalty might, to be met at the Ballarat station by a party clad in top hats and dress clothes – in 1870. If it were not for the gum trees, the Australian grasses and the sun, “Ercildoune” might be taken for a slice of England or Scotland. Mr and Mrs Currie have carefully nursed the illusion, and all the furnishings, and even the garden, are in keeping with the period.

The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld.) 6 August 1934
Excerpt from a letter by A. J. McCONNEL. In 1839 Messrs. Livingstone Learmouth, of Ercildoun (Vic.), brought Hereford heifers from the Cressy Co., of Tasmania, which were descended from cattle imported from England in the ship Albion in 1826. These Messrs. Learmonth mated with English bulls and bred a large herd.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 28 August 1934
COUNTRY PAGE. SHEEP LIKE SNOWBALLS. WASHED WOOL SOLD AT 122d. PER LB. THE LIVINGSTONE LEARMONTHS. By R.V.B. of “The Australasian,” and A. S. Kenyon.
Among the most enterprising of the early Port Phillipians were the Livingstone-Learmonths. Representing the ill-fated Port Phillip Association, Thomas Livingstone-Learmonth, senior, visited Sydney in 1838 to attend the first sale of the colony’s country lands. An area on the Moorabool, afterwards known as Lawrence Park, was knocked down to his bid of 38/ an acre. At a lower figure he purchased another area, which came into pastoral prominence. This was Mount Mercer. It was, however, the sons of Thomas Livingstone-Learmonth, Sen., whose work of colonization is more historic. Out of the wilderness they fashioned Ercildoune, an estate of great value, and improved other properties. Many of the best cattle and horses in the land were bred by these pioneers. They spent money freely on the advancement of any district in which they were interested. The merino stud flock established by them at Ercildoune was unsurpassed. Thomas Shaw placed these breeders with J. L. Currie, William Campbell, and Alexander Cunningham in the forefront of stud masters. “To sheep men” he wrote, “the Ercildoune flock was a constant pleasure – beautiful wool, highest prices, and splendid mutton sheep. In the act of sheepbreeding the Livingstone-Learmonths reached, as far as men could, absolute perfection. It was a bad day for Victorian sheepbreeding when they sold out and went to live in Britain.”

The property won a world’s record, 122d. a lb. for 2-tooth wethers’ washed fleece. Ercildoune sheep in the old days were hot water washed and currycombed before shearing. They resembled big snowballs when they came out of the wash. The clip was classed as extra extra and extra super combing.

As was the case at Larra, annual ram sales were held at Ercildoune, and frequently £10,000 worth of rams changed hands on a sale day. No ewes were sold. These breeders preferred to destroy the surplus ewes. In 1872, the property, with everything on it, was acquired by Sir Samuel Wilson, who continued the annual sales for a time. He provided a bar and fare of the best free for visitors. The paddocks were full of drovers and their camps for a week or more before the sales. But later the old stud flock was transferred to Mount Bute, and the Ercildoune ram sales on the spot became a memory.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 1 September 1934
ERCILDOUNE. A RETREAT FOR THE KING’S SON. By Angela Booth.
“This thorn tree as long as it stand, Earlston shall possess a’ her lands.” Thomas the Rhymer.
If you had been on Mount Buninyong in the spring of 1837, you might have seen a party of disappointed men viewing the country to the north of it. They were the Livingstone Learmonths. They had set out from Geelong in search of land likely for settlement, and were daunted by the heavy and thickly timbered condition of the country. The party separated, but some of its members returned later with an aborigine for a guide, and he took them to Lake Burrumbeet. It was then decided that the country was too far off for occupation. This we learn from a letter of Thomas Livingston Learmonth. In January 1838, they set out on another expedition and this time they found that beautiful open country to the north of Lake Burrumbeet. They settled on it and called the station Ercildoune (the Look-out Hill) after the birthplace of their ancestor, Thomas the Rhymer. In the 13th century Thomas the Rhymer lived at Earlston – the early name for Ercildoune – the old Gaelic form being Arciol-Dun. Three brothers of the Livingston Learmonth family developed Ercildoune station and built up a flock of merino sheep for which it was celebrated, and which is still being carried on. The Learmonths were enthusiastic builders, and were endowed with a strong aesthetic sense. They chose a place for the Homestead in naturally picturesque surroundings. The house is of granite excavated on the property. It is two-storied, and is built in the Scottish style of architecture. Considering the time and locality, the masonry is admirable, and the effect has not been spoilt by attempts to modernize the structure; for example, the lofty windows have not been robbed of the original small panes. Standing a few yards from the house, but connected with it by an arm of ornamental stonework, is a border tower, ivy covered – a facsimile of the border towers of Scotland. Built into the wall of the house is a stone taken from the Rhymer’s tower by the Learmonths. A garden of 13 acres once surrounded this interesting home, but time wrought the inevitable changes. Still the existing garden is fine and spacious, comprising chiefly lawns and trees. The trees planted in 1838 and subsequent years have attained a height of 100ft., and give dignity to the landscape. The house is approached though a drive of satisfying beauty. It winds for one mile and a half between Mediterranean pines and deodars. Many of these splendid trees are 15ft. in circumference. The garden trees, the oaks, elms, the poplars, chestnuts, and plane trees were brought in pots from Scotland. Mrs. Livingstone Learmonth gave this information to the present owner of Ercildoune, Major Currie, M.L.C., when she met him in England. She was aged then 96 years. The vitality of this old lady was remarkable; she spent most her time playing piano-forte music. She had a sister-in-law aged 85 years, who was equally remarkable, but Major Currie did not meet her. She was out hunting! This lady is now the Dowager Lady Portman. In 1872 the station was “held up” by the bushranger Gowrie. He occupied a cave in a fortified position on the Ercildoune hill, from which he raided the surrounding country. He took all the gold from Ercidoune, but Thomas Learmonth was able to gallop across country to warn the Robertson family on Mount Mitchell station. There were 1,500 gold sovereigns at the Homestead ; these were hidden in a sack of flour and saved. Later Gowrie was shot dead on Ercildoune hill by the police. His skull, now at the Homestead, shows the passage of the bullet through the forehead and out at the base of the skull. It is an interesting object, and tells a plain tale of Gowrie’s mentality. One day it may find a place in the medical museum. The brothers Learmonth caught the fever then raging at Ballarat. They bought and developed the Egerton Mine, and became involved in a lawsuit over it. The case went to the Privy Council, and was lost to the Learmonths, costing them some thousands of pounds. Then they sold Ercildoune to Sir S. Wilson and went to live in England.

Sir Samuel Wilson occupied the place in 1872. He built the walled garden, an abode of perfect peace. It is less than an acre in extent, and the wall enclosing it is 10ft. in height. Breakwinds of cypress divide it, but now the garden consists mainly of lawns and roses. The Wilsons were collectors. In the grounds there is a marble well-head at least 2,000 years old. It was excavated in Palestine. One of the sons interested in archaeology bought it for his father’s favourite home. Sir Samuel Wilson used to retire to Ercildoune to escape the summer heats, the property being 1,800ft. above sea level. The house contains many fine pieces, an Adam mantelpiece among them. The Chippendale furniture is very fine. There are chairs, cabinets, and bookcases, but more interesting than these is a pair of Chippendale wall mirrors, rare even in England. Sir Samuel Wilson’s interest in the acclimatization of fish is known. He established a hatchery at Ercildoune, which he stocked with ova from Scotland. The hatchery is still working breeding trout of various kinds to stock the ponds on the property. The time came when the Wilson family, too, retired to England, where they lived at Hughenden Manor, Disraeli’s former home. They revisited Ercildoune only at rare intervals till 1914. In the Great War all the Wilson sons lost their lives (The Argus (Melbourne) 15 November 1938 reports that Clarence Chesney Wilson died in London in 1936 leaving an Estate valued at £626,436 that included his Estate worth £128,111 in New South Wales). After the war the trustees sold the property to Major Alan Currie, the present owner.

The Curries come from Larra in the Camperdown district; Major Currie’s father settled there in 1844. At one time Sir Samuel Wilson and Mr. Currie, Sen., seriously considered exchanging properties. It is curious that Mr. Currie’s son should have acquired Ercildoun. Major Alan Currie, M.L.C., when no longer a young man, left wealth and security to live in the trenches for four years. It is fitting that the King’s soldier son should tarry a while under his roof. The station provides opportunity for exercise and recreation in perfect conditions. There are riding, shooting, fishing, and swimming. And the lady of Ercildoune, so quiet mannered and gentle, will be an ideal hostess for a tired guest.

The Australian Home Beautiful 1 September 1934
ASPECTS OF ERCILDOUNE. The Home in which Prince Henry will be a Guest. One afternoon last month the household at Ercildoune – Major Alan Currie’s home, at which Prince Henry is to be a guest – were startled by the drone of an aeroplane engine. Looking up, they saw a machine dip and swerve. They endeavoured to direct the pilot in what appeared to be a forced landing, but the plane banked and turned – the two occupants waving their hands in greeting – and disappeared beyond the trees. Several days later the puzzle was solved when Major Currie was shown the aerial view of “Ercildoune” that appears overleaf. It gives a comprehensive view that is supplemented by the photographs taken from the ground. Ercildoune is one of the most interesting as well as one of the loveliest properties in Victoria. Covering, with its sheep and cattle run, some 8000 acres, it was selected by Mr Livingstone Learmonth in 1837, and remained the family home of that branch of the Learmonths for sixty years, when it was bought as it stood by the late Sir Samuel Wilson, a picturesque figure in the squatting world. Twenty-odd years later Mr Alan Currie repeated the “Walk-in-walk-out” purchase, and the result is a continuous development of the property over a period just short of a century. What more fitting episode can be imagined in a Centenary celebration than a visit by a great-grandson of Queen Victoria to a home whose foundations were laid in the year she came to the throne! The article goes on to include much of the previous one of 1929 and finishes off by stating – Amid such surroundings our Royal visitor should find a happy, if short, respite from his arduous labors.

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 20 October 1934
ERCILDOUNE. By D.D. Excerpts – Ercildoune is one of the historic places of interest in Victoria, and was founded ninety-six years ago. Among the early settlers to arrive in Victoria in the year 1837 were Thomas Livingstone Learmonth and his brother, Somerville Livingstone Learmonth. They were sons of Thomas Learmonth, of Tasmania.

Deep down in their hearts there was the love of Scotland, and particularly that part on the Scottish border known as Ercildoune, the ancestral home of the Learmonths for over thirteen centuries, also on an elevated piece of land, 12,000 miles from Bonnie Scotland, the new Ercildoune arose from out the primeval bush. It is situated 200 feet above the level of the sea, and has a cool and equable climate. The name Ercildoune recalls one of the sweetest legends of Scotland, and Scotland is the happy possessor of many beautiful legends, myths and romances. Thomas Learmonth, the founder of the Ercildoune in Scotland, is known in history as “Thomas the Rhymer.” He was asleep one day in the shadow of Eldoun Hills, in Earlston, under the Eildon Tree. It was near the “Bogie Burn,” or in other words, the “Ghost stream.” The Queen of the Fairies, dressed in “green-grass silk,” came riding on a “milk-white horse.” She dared him to kiss her, which was a dangerous thing to do to a red-blooded, poetic Scotchman. He kissed her. The Queen told him that he would now have to serve her, through weal or woe, for seven years. He mounted behind her and they galloped away into Fairyland. While there, Thomas received an apple from the Queen, which bestowed on him the gift of prophecy, and a tongue that could never lie. After seven years had passed he returned to his home. He then composed many rhymes, which are still recited in Scotland. He was not, however, contented or happy. Before leaving Fairyland, he had given a pledge to the Queen to return to her when she called to him. One night while holding a banquet in the “Rhymer’s Tower” at Ercildoune, a messenger came and whispered to him; without a word he at once arose from the feast and passed out into the darkness and was seen no more.

Another Thomas Learmonth is associated with the founding of the Australian Ercildoune. He was a descendant of “Thomas the Rhymer,” and was a fine type of Scotchman. There were many hundreds of aborigines in the district when he settled there; yet he never came into collision with them though the natives were guilty of provocative actions. They killed one of his servants and stole a number of his sheep. He had a just, as well as a kindly nature. He wrote to Governor La Trobe “considering the wrong that had been done to them by depriving them of their country, they have shown less ferocity, and have exhibited the desire to retaliate less than might have been expected. It would have been a good thing if some of the other settlers at the time had shown similar understanding and throughtful consideration for the blacks”. The aborigines became excellent horsemen and boundary riders with the women employed as harvesters, servants, guides, trackers and bush food gatherers.

Ercildoune was developed and made beautiful under the direction of Thomas Learmonth, and it was regarded as one of the finest estates in the colony. Early in the seventies the property was purchased by the late Sir Samuel Wilson, who made further improvements, making it even more beautiful than it was when he purchased it from Mr. Learmonth. It became the favourite summer resort of Sir Samuel Wilson, and it became also celebrated for the fine class of merino sheep, which were bred there. Sir Samuel Wilson and his family resided afterwards in England for many years, and lived in Hughendon Manor, the home of the famous Earl of Reaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli. The property finally came into the hands of the present owners, Major and Mrs. Alan Currie, who will have the distinguished honour of entertaining the Duke of Gloucester. It is fitting that Ercildoune, with its historic associations, apart from its charming surroundings, should have been selected for the Duke’s first resting place in this State. After the strain of the many functions through which he will have to pass, Ercildoune will prove to be an enchanting haven of rest.

The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) 30 October 1934
THE DUKE WIELDS THE SHEARS. SHEARERS IMPRESSED. From our special representative. The Duke of Gloucester is thoroughly enjoying his brief stay at Ercildoune, the station home of Mr. Alan Currie, M.L.C. This morning, feeling completely refreshed, the Duke went for a short gallop in the home paddocks before breakfast. The weather was fine after the recent heavy rains, and there was a rare nip in the air. Several of the best shearers of the district had been summoned to give a demonstration, and when the Duke arrived at the shearing shed he was persuaded to try his hand with the automatic shears. He did not attempt the task in real earnest, but with competent guidance he ran the machine up the nether part of a sheep by way of commencement, and the shearers of six sheep were flattered to have their job begun by a Royal hand. They said that the preliminary cut was done well. The Duke remained to see the shearing of the merinos, whose wool will be sent to the Geelong woolen mills, which have undertaken to make him a travelling rug as a souvenir. During his short stay at Geelong on Saturday morning, the Duke will press the button setting in motion the machinery, which will weave the rug. This afternoon the Royal party motored 30 miles to Banongil, the Fairbairns’ property at Skipton and the Duke bagged 20 snipe. This was considered good shooting, as snipe have not been plentiful in recent weeks. The shooters were out until dusk, and the Duke pronounced it a good day’s sport. Half a dozen snakes were encountered during the afternoon march, and the Duke did some short-range shooting in disposing of them. He had never before killed a snake, and he said he felt it was just murder, but he braced himself to the unaccustomed task when he was told that it was a local ritual that had to be followed for self-protection. In dealing with the birds, he showed himself as accurate a gun as his father. The run back to Ercildoune meant a late dinner, and the dance was not begun until shortly after 10 o’clock. The Duke was in great humour after his second day in the out-of-doors. There were not more than 60 persons on the dance floor, and as Ercildoune boasts a spacious ballroom, there was none of the crowding that has occurred at the official dances in the capital cities already visited. His Royal Highness danced until the early hours. It has been arranged that to-morrow the Duke will have some more riding, and he will participate in a rabbit shoot. In the evening he will rejoin the Royal train for Mildura. He will return to Ballarat on Thursday afternoon, and afterwards go into the south-west and motor along the Great Ocean road from Colac to Geelong. The Duke will be in Melbourne for the Henley Regatta on Saturday afternoon, and he will be in this district again during the week-end spending a couple of days at Mr. A. Russell’s Mawallock station at Beaufort.

The Herald (Melbourne, Vic.) 30 October 1934.
THE WOMAN’S WORLD – Continued. While I remember. By “ANNETTE’.
“Ercildoune” TONIGHT after days of fishing and shooting, and riding, the Duke will be leaving Ercildoune and the members of one of the most memorable of house-parites will disperse to the city to get ready for the Cup time festivities. Ercildoune has been picked for Royalty week-ends several times now and with its huge ballroom, billiard room and stables, it would appearl to any sports loving person as a pleasure resort. Then like most of the larger western district station homesteads, it has a lake stretching away before the house. Among the guests Major and Mrs Alan Currie invited to meet the Duke over the week-end were Miss Janet Landale and Miss Margaret Brookes, I hear from a reliable source. When he meets Miss Brookes, he will see a girl who is a typical produce of our country life. She plays a pretty game of golf, there are few horses that can worry her, and I believe she is equal to most women out of championship class on a tennis court. Not so long ago, Miss Brookes came back from a Parish finishing school, and now at almost every festivity season, she helps her mother give one of the large all-day parties at Woodend, which will be held next Sunday.

The Australasian (Melbourne) 3 November 1934.
WOMAN’S REALM. SOCIAL NOTES. Major Currie, M.L.C., and Mrs. Alan Currie had the honour of entertatining His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester in their famous station home, Ercildoune, Burrumbeet, during the week-end. Members of the house party incuded Major-General R.G.H. Howard-Vyse, Captain Derek Schrieber, Mr. and Mrs. Ewen Mackinnon, Mr. and Mrs. John Ritchie, Miss Helen Stephen, and Miss Elyne Chauvel. At dinner on Sunday evening…..

At the dance Mrs. Alan Currie wore a lovely gown of moonstone white bark-ridged crepe with a white velvet cape adorned with a snow-white fox fur. Exquisite flowers were used to decorate the reception-rooms and adorn the dinner table on each night of the Duke’s visit. The first evening the table was laid with a pinapple cloth inlet with exquisite laces and the flowers were sweet peas and lily of the valley, while shaded candelabra cast a soft light. The second evening a cloth of filet lace covered the table, while rhododendrons bloomed in the light of silver candelabra, veiled by delicate pink shades.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 6 April 1935
COLIBAN PARK HEREFORDS. By R.V.B. No stud has made more rapid headway than Coliban Park. Second paragraph states – “Soon after Coliban Park was acquired by the late Mr. Anthony Barber a number of pure Herefords was purchased at the Ercildoune dispersal sale. For many years the Ercildoune Herefords were foremost in the land, but strangely enough the pedigrees of these cattle had been lost, and those purchased by Mr. Barber could not gain entry in the stud-book in consequence. Thereupon he and his sons determined to experiment with different breeds at Coliban Park to see which was most suited to the country. They found the Herefords to be outstanding, and decided to adhere to that breed alone.”

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 20 July 1935
ERCILDOUNE STUD. For nearly 100 years Ercildoune has been noted for sheep and wool of the highest standard. By R.V.B. No pastoral property in Victoria can boast a longer or more distinguished record than Ercildoune. Taken up as a pastoral run in 1837, the property was held by the Livingstone-Learmonths for 35 years. These pastoralists founded a merino stud, which became one of the most valuable in Australia. In 1872 the property with all stock and plant was sold to Sir Samuel Wilson, and about 15 years ago the estate, as it is known to-day, greatly reduced in area, was acquired by the present proprietor, Major H. A. Currie. Soon after the property changed from the ownership of Messrs. Livingstone-Learmonth to Sir Samuel Wilson most of the Ercildoune stud sheep were transferred to Mount Bute. When Major Currie purchased, the sheep on the property were crossbreds principally, and the new owner decided to sell practically all the sheep on the place. He brought over his own Mount Elephant stud, which was part of the old Gala stud. The Gala sheep sprung from John Aitken’s early Tasmanian importations, which were regarded as the best of the foundation merinoes of Victoria. In the Galas there was also a strong infusion of Larra blood, through Larra rams, which in turn were developed largely from Camden stock brought down from New South Wales. In addition a number of stud ewes were bought at Mount Bute, where the earlier Ercildoune blood remained. Such are the foundations of the principal merino flock, which thrives at Ercildoune now. There is another merino flock preserved on the property, however, and in some respects of even more interest than the chief flock. This little flock is descended in a direct line from Macarthur’s first importations, and for more than a century has been kept inbred. Brought to Victoria by William Campbell, who was associated with Macarthur, the Camdens were depastured first at Strathloddon, then at Towral, near Clunes, but later they were returned to Strathloddon, and later still they were transferred to Mount Hope. The sheep were prized by William Campbell, but while at Mount Hope, he was obliged to sell his flock, which went to the possession of Griffiths and Green, who parted with the flock to the owners of Dunmore. Subsequently the Camdens came back to Griffiths and Green, but afterwards Campbell became the owner once more, and he took the sheep first to Auchmore, near Bendigo, then to Riverina, where they encountered drought conditions and most of them perished. The survivors were sent down to Wooriwyrite, in the Western district, and at the request of the owner of Wooriwyrite the Camdens were taken over by Major Currie in 1924 for preservation at Ercildoune. Students of the development of the merino find much to interest them by comparing these old Camdens with other sheep at Ercildoune. There side by side can be seen the present-day merino and the inbred direct descendants of the foundation merinoes of Australia. The Camden flock is kept down to 200 breeding ewes, which are much more than curiosities. These sheep have improved by selection, and have the conformation of first-class stud animals, but their fleeces, although gaining steadily in weight, are still rather light. The pastures have given the wool a little more strength, but it is of beautiful quality, and specialists have pronounced the Camden wool as remarkable for its silkiness and lustre. The old Camdens are very hardy and rear a high percentage of lambs. They have no coarse hair or black spots on the face, which were considered to be bad faults in the early days, but are tolerated now. A pure Camden ewe of fine quality bone joined with a suitable outside ram will produce almost by her first progeny the ideal fine-wool merino sheep cutting a fleece well up to the average. The owner of Ercildoune has set out to bring his chief flock back to the fine merino of even type, growing wool with plenty of character and style, and he has set a high standard for his stud and flock. At the Geelong auction sales the wool is now always among the top lots, and the Ercildoune lambs’ wool is frequently right at the top. The cut a head at Ercildoune ranges from 7½lb in an average year to 10lb. in a good year. Then there is the Ryeland stud, established three years ago. Ryelands, in the opinion of Major Currie, have a sure future in Victoria. He has found them of great value to cross with cast for age merino ewes, and with comebacks to produce early maturing lambs for the export trade. The Ercildoune Ryeland stud was purchased from Mr. C. Llloyd, who had founded it by acquiring about 50 very high-class New Zealand Ryeland ewes and stud rams from the Woodburn stud established by the late T. H. Payne. A stud ram of Woodburn blood purchased from Mr. J. McIntosh was added recently and there are now 90 ewes in the flock.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 17 August 1935
VISIT OF JAPANESE DIPLOMAT. Guest for Weekend at Ercildoune. During his visit to Melbourne next month, Mr. Katsuji Debuchi, the leader of the Japanese good-will mission, will spend the week-end from September 7 as a guest at Ercildoune, the beautiful home of Major Currie, M.L.C., and Mrs. Currie. Ercildoune is one of the historic station homes of the State, where many distinguished visitors have been entertained. The history of Ercildoune goes back as far as 1837, when the Learmonth brothers, the sons of Thomas Learmonth, of Tasmania, arrived in Victoria. In the following year, after a long and exhausting expedition in search of suitable country for settlement, they came upon the lovely open country in the neighbourhood of Lake Burrumbeet, and established themselves there, building a Homestead, which they named Ercildoune, which means the “Look-out Hill,” after the home of their ancestor, Thomas Learmonth, in Scotland. The Homestead is set in charming surroundings, and is built of local granite, which to-day is picturesquely ivy-clad. In the spacious garden there are some magnificent trees, some of which were brought from Scotland in 1838, and have attained amazing height and girth. The lovely old walled garden, was built by Sir Samuel Wilson, who bought Ercildoune from the Learmonths in 1872, and whose name is perpetuated in the Wilson Hall, at the University of Melbourne. Many treasures were added to the house, by the Wilson family, and it was sir Samuel Wilson who founded the famous hatchery of which the late Mr. Tom Fisher was in charge for many years. Ercildoune is admirably adapted for entertaining, and it has some very fine Chippendale pieces in its furnishings. Major and Mrs. Currie have been at Ercildoune for more than 15 years. The Duke and Duchess of York were to have been their guests during their visit to Australia in 1927, but circumstances prevented it. They had, however, the honour of entertaining a Royal visitor when the Duke of Gloucester was here. Mrs. Currie, as a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Albert Miller, has inherited a tradition of gracious hospitality, which she has carried on in very delightful fashion. She is a keenly interested member of the Australian Women’s National League, and has given many interesting parties for fellow members at Ercildoune.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 28 August 1935
A HOUSE THAT IS FULL OF LOVELY THINGS. ERCILDOUNE. (Illustrated.) Victoria may be only one hundred years old in the history of her settlement, yet in the possession of homes like Ercildoune, she can lay claim to a history that goes back over many centuries. Apart from the beauty of the place itself, the dignity of its ancient Scottish architecture, the loveliness of its setting, incomparable with its mixture of the gentleness of the English garden landscape, and the rugged Australian wildness of the stern and stony hills behind it, and all that the combination of these three things implies, Ercildoune breathes the romance of history, with its memories of the adventurous spirits who founded it nearly 100 years ago. The Livingstone Learmonths came from the borderland of Scotland, and when they built their new home on the peaceful open country adjoining Lake Burrumbeet, they added to it a border tower, a facsimile of the tower at their ancestral home, the Scottish Ercildoune, the history of which goes back beyond the 13th century. Added to from time to time, but always maintaining the character of the original architecture, Ercildoune stands today one of the most splendid mansion homes of the Victorian countryside, beautiful without and beautiful within. There are few Australian homes so filled with rare and lovely things. The majority of them were there when Major and Mrs. Currie went there after the war, and no-one knows whether some of them were brought out by the Learmonths, or by Sir Samuel Wilson, or from the trustees of whose Estate Major Currie purchased the property. Everywhere one looks, there is something to find joy in, not merely because of its intrinsic worth, but because it is beautiful. There is the mellow beauty of old English oak, the richness of mahogany, the soft gleam of walnut, and the depth of old cedar in tables, chairs and cabinets from the hands of world famous craftsmen. Chippendale cabinets are full of lovely English China and priceless ivories from the East. Delicious Hogarth and Bartolozzi Prints, and some exquisite old coloured French engravings hang on the walls. Occasional tables carry valuable burdens in curios from various parts of the world, and there are some marvelous porcelain and china bowls of both eastern and western origin in odd corners of the house, sometimes purely ornamental, sometimes carrying masses of blooms of the early Australian springtime. There is however, nothing of the atmosphere of a collection of museum pieces in the rooms of Ercildoune. Its treasures have been absorbed into the living of its owners. To Major and Mrs Currie, they are the furnishings of their home, and as such they are cared for and loved. Built of stone quarried out of the great granite hill in the background, an offshoot of the Great Dividing Range, Ercildoune, the home of Major Currie M.L.C., and Mrs. Currie, near Lake Burrumbeet, is one of the most historic and the most beautiful country homes in Victoria. Many distinguished visitors from many parts of the world have enjoyed its gracious hospitality, the most recent of them His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, while the Japanese ambassador, Mr Katsuji Debuchi, will be the guest of Major and Mrs Currie during his visit next month to this State. Above (picture) is the lovely vista that welcomes the visitor to the front entrance at Ercildoune. The further portion of the hall has been added by Major and Mrs Currie. The sunshine of an early Spring morning flooded this hall through a spacious window hung with curtains of deep green velour, and brought out the gold of early wattle in the lovely old vase on the circular mahogany table. A bowl of stylosa in the forefront (of the picture) stands on a small table of walnut, and soft tapestries upholster the easy chairs and sofa. Hanging on the walls of this hall, are some very interesting oil paintings of war scenes. Two of these are by the famous artist, W. L. Wylie. One depicts the Ypres Salient in 1916, seen from the air, as it will never be seen again, before it became pitted with the ravages of war. Another represents the battlefield of Villers-Bretonneux in 1918 at the same time when the Australian troops were checking the advance on Amiens. On another wall hangs a lovely water-colour, the work of a young subaltern (an officer in the British army below the rank of captain, especially a second lieutenant) named Gilbert Halliday, in Major Currie’s brigade, and later a well known artist. The pictures in the centre of the page shows two corners of the lovely drawing room, with its vivid green carpet and curtains of old moire damask in a dun green that belong to the early furnishing of the house. Over the Adam fireplace hangs a Chippendale gilt framed mirror, a replica of which hangs on another wall of the room. Set in the far corner is a Chippendale cabinet with a lovely collection of Stafford china. Softly coloured tapestries and chintzes have been chosen to harmonise with the character of the room. Sliding doors divide the two ends of the room, and on one side set in the walls around an alcove leading to a tiny writing room is a set of bookshelves, which form a lovely pattern of colour against the cream walls. A reflection of these shelves may be seen in the tall mirror. Set in the window of the alcove of the second picture and forming a pedestal for a lovely bowl of wattle, is the little old organ, with its golden pipes, from the convict church at Port Arthur. Another Chippendale cabinet serves as an escritoire and receptacle for treasures from the Orient, and a priceless Persian carpet is on the floor. The dining room is carpeted in old rose and dark rose coloured wallpaper, repeats the pattern in the shaded rose coloured curtain of moire damask, which belongs to the same period as the drawing room curtains. Pale rose brocade was chosen by Mrs Currie, for upholstering the chairs set around a magnificent mahogany table, which was part of the original furnishings of the Victoria Barracks. Paintings of famous racehorses hang on the walls, and the marvellous rose lacquer screen in the background is a rare specimen of an almost forgotten Japanese art. One of the most rare pieces in the house is in the dining room, an early Empire sideboard in mahogany. Experts say it is the work of either Sheraton or Thomas Hope, who bids fan to become as famous as Sheraton and Chippendale. The old iron-gate on the right opens into a lovely, peaceful old walled garden. Against the stonewalls, also hewn out of Ercildoune Hill, fig and other orchard trees spread their gnarled branches and the garden is divided into three by perfectly clipped cypress hedges. Everywhere as one wanders through the garden there is the sound of running water from the little lakes and ponds, which are all over the property fed from the lakes in the hills. Set in the centre of a giant lawn is an archaeological treasure, an old marble well, the origin of which goes back beyond Christianity. It was dug out of excavations in Palestine, by a party, which included members of the Wilson family, and because they had been working on consecrated ground, which was against the law, they were fined £63,000

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 7 September 1935
ROMANCE OF A STONE. From the Tower Where Rimer Lived. Of connection between the historic Homestead of “Ercildoune,” where the Japanese good-will ambassador, Mr. Debuchi, will be the guest of Major and Mrs. Currie during the week end, and the quaint thirteenth century poet popularly known as Thomas the Rimer, who wandered in the borderland of Scotland compiling his verses and indulging an eerie gif of second sight, there at first glance seems to be very little. But Cr. Angela Booth established a very interesting link in the course of an address to members of the Victoria Centenary Club yesterday afternoon. “Thomas the Rimer” is to a certain extent lost in a medieval mist, but many of his sayings have been handed down to posterity, and it is recognized as historical fact that during part of his lifetime he inhabited a border tower named Ercildoune. A granite stone from this tower has found its way into an entrance porch of the other Ercildoune, which was established nearly a century ago no – in 1837 – near Ballarat by a party of pioneers on the look out for good sheep country, and a replica of one of the border towers is connected with the house itself by massive ivy-clad stone masonry. A fact, which is not at all surprising, when one remembers that the Homestead was built by the Livingstone Learmonths, who are direct descendants of Thomas the Rimer. Cr. Booth recounted innumerable fascinating incidents connected with the history of the “modern Ercildoune.” To the left of the Homestead, for instance, is the hill on which Gowrie, the famous Australian bushranger, evaded the police before being finally sighted and shot. His skull, with a clean round bullet hole in the centre of the forehead and the base of the cerebrum, is locked away in a cabinet drawer, and to see it is to appreciate the bushranger’s low mentality. Then in the garden at “Ercildoune” is a well brought out from Palestine, and about 2000 years old, and one approaches the Homestead along a drive a mile and half in length, lined with giant pines and chestnut trees (*they are actually deodars) also brought from across the sea. Cr. Booth spoke of the hatcheries, which were the contribution of the second owner, Sir Samuel Wilson, to Ercildoune. He was particularly interested in the acclimatization of fish, and had built ponds where they were still kept.

Queensland Country Life, 26 November 1936
THE EFFECT OF IN-BREEDING. INJURIOUS OR OTHERWISE? Continuing his lectures on wool growing and merino breeding before the Queensland National Association 50 years ago, Mr. J. S. Hermann Schmidt said that generally speaking it must be supposed “that every peculiarity was more or less liable to be inherited; the qualities of the body and of the mind, such as shape, size, and constitutional tendencies, disposition to diseases, and other deficiencies, temperament, virtues, vices, and habits. Since, however, the domestic animals possessed the power of transferring their individuality in different degrees, it was often found that some did not transfer their own individualities, but allowed the qualities of their ancestors to reappear in their offspring. This phenomenon was called reversion. Reversion generally meant the reappearance of the bad qualities of some inferior ancestors. Some animals possessed a greater degree of inheriting power than others, but wherever it was possible to trace back to the qualities of ancestors, it was found that the ancestors of such animals were in possession of those qualities in a higher degree of perfection and constancy of blood. The degree of the power of inheritance depended upon the frequency of certain qualities in many generations backward, and the closer the animals were related, the higher would be their inheriting influence on their offspring. If father and mother had an equal degree of inheriting power, they would have an equal influence on their offspring. After citing instances, human and animal, where in-breeding had no ill effects, Mr. Schmidt said: “The question whether in-and-in breeding has any unconditionally injurious effect upon the offspring is a purely physiological one, and can only be decided through a series of experiments instituted for the distinct purpose of find it out.” Amongst instances of in-breeding – insofar, as, he says: “None of the proprietors of these flocks would ever dream of jeopardizing their peculiar character through fresh blood” – Mr. Schmidt quoted the Australian flocks of “Mr. Learmonth, of Ercildoun, Currie and Shaw in Victoria; Kermode, Tasmania; and the Mudgee sheep.” None of these flocks suffered harm from the process, nor did other flocks in Saxony and elsewhere, which the lecturer cited. In Silesia, however, what he describes as “two excellent flocks, brought to the highest possible standard of fineness, evenness, and closeness by means of in–and-in breeding,” were, he tells us, utterly ruined through a peculiar infection of the spine called Traber disease, which was not infectious, “but fatally inheritant.” Ewes and rams lost the use of their hindquarters, and the rams were unfit for work when past three years old. These instances, however, furnished no conclusive evidence that in-and-in breeding was injurious to the posterity, because the true nature of the Traber disease was not fully understood, the owners of flocks so affected having kept the matters as secret as possible. It was quite possible therefore that what appeared to be an inherent disease might be occasioned through many other things; for instance, as the late Dr. Spinola and many others suggested, a reflex action emanating from the brain, and occasioned through a hydatid. Summarising, Mr. Schmidt said that there was at present no evidence that in-and-in breeding would deteriorate the constitution of the domestic animals.

The Age (Melbourne, Vic.) 26 February 1938
FOUNDING OF DELIGHTFUL INLAND CENTRE. “ROARING, ROMANTIC GOLD DIGGING,” THE GLAMOR OF THE PAST. By NATHAN F. SPIELVOGEL, President, Ballarat Historical Society. EARLY in 1837 the brothers Thomas and Somerville Livingstone Learmonth drove 3000 sheep and took up land on either side of the Barwon River. The Port Phillip Settlement was very young. Each young sheep farmer took his flock three miles further into the bush than the last settler. Then he “squatted” down. Hence the term “squatter” once used sneeringly, but later considered to denote one of Australia’s aristocracy. From their by the Barwon, the Learmonths could see a lone peak standing out against the skyline away to the north-east. In August 1837, Thomas Livingstone Learmonth organized a party of young squatters to go out and explore the country about this mountain. This party consisted of George Russell, David Fisher, Henry Anderson, Captain Hutton, Dr. Thomson and Thomas Livingstone Learmonth, all young Scotsmen and belonging to what the historians term the Glasgow invasion. They wisely took with them a young Government surveyor, named D’Arcy, or Darcy, I am not sure which. They carried an ample supply of goods and their tent in a cart drawn by Learmonth’s horse. With them they had one of the Barwon tribe of aborigines to interpret should they meet with any local tribes. For two days the party ploughed their way through swampy country. On the afternoon of the second day they reached the foot of the mountain, and there made a camp. Their black guide told them the mountain was Bonan Yowang, meaning “a man lying down with his knee up.” Looking at the mountain we can see a resemblance to a man in this posture. Next morning the party scrambled to the top of the mountain and there, on that bleak August morning in 1837, they looked down on the hills and valleys, of what is now the city of Ballarat. I wish I could tell you that they raised the Union Jack and took possession of the country in the name of Queen Victoria. But I must stick to the truth. The only thing these young Scotsmen were interested in was if the land in front of them would be good sheep land. In a letter, written by Thomas. L. Learmonth in 1853, I read that they were very disappointed with the thickly timbered and inferior appearance of the landscape before them. Perhaps some of them were disappointed, but Learmonth left the party and returned to the Barwon and began making preparations to bring his sheep up to the newly found pastures. The rest of the party went on further till they came to a large lake of brackish water, which their black guide told them was called “Burrumbeet,” meaning “muddy water.” The party finally decided that this district was too far away from Geelong to be worth taking up, so all of them returned to Geelong. One of them, Henry Anderson, told about the new country to a tall, eighteen-year old Scotsman, William Cross Yuille, who had a small station at Point Henry. The two determined to steal a march on Learmonth, and get there before him. So, while the Learmonths were leisurely preparing to move, these two quickly and quietly slipped away with their sheep by way of Mount Mercer. When the Learmonths arrived at the River Leigh they were disagreeably surprised to find Yuille and Anderson in occupation. There was a rather bitter altercation. The Learmonths claimed the land, but the two young Scots said, “First come, first served.” The trouble was amicably settled. There was plenty of land for everybody. The agreement was that the Learmonths should go three miles in one direction, Yuille and Anderson three miles in the other. This plan brought the Learmonths to the foot of Mount Bonan Yowang, soon shortened to Buninyong, and the other party to the banks of a large, reedy swamp, which they called Black Swamp, afterwards called Yuille’s Swamp, and to-day the beautiful Lake Wendouree. In 1933 the Ballarat Historical Society erected a monolith on the site where Yuille and Anderson made their first camp, near the shores of the lake, and during the forthcoming centenary celebrations and a pilgrimage will be made to this spot.
Picture of Thomas Learmonth under which the writer has stated that he (Thomas) was the first white man to see Ballarat, March, 1837.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 12 March 1938
Old-established Sheep Studs. From the time the land in the environment of Ballarat was taken up as squatting stations in the late thirty’s of last century, the district has been noted for its sheep. The suitability of the pastures for growing the finest merino wool in the world was realized, and pioneer pastoralists set about improving their stock. Merino studs reinforced by the introduction of Tasmanian sheep, were developed, and some are in the forefront to-day. Perhaps the most famous was that of Messrs. T. and S. Learmonth, formed in 1848 at Ercildoune, a beautiful property near Ballarat now owned by Sir Alan Currie. The originals were selected by, Mr. William Forlonge, from some of the most famous studs in Germany, and principally from the stud of the Elector of Saxony. Mr. Forlonge brought these sheep to Tasmania in 1829, and they were kept on the island for several years. He subsequently transferred his sheep to Victoria, where he found difficulty in getting suitable pasture for them; consequently he disposed of his flock to Sir William Mitchell in 1846. They were depastured at Barfold, in the Kyneton district, but the country was too cold and wet, and they did not thrive. Messrs. Learmonth, being anxious to secure a stud of merinoes of undoubted pedigree, purchased the sheep from Sir William Mitchell and the flock was removed to Ercildoune. Another very old established merino stud in the Ballarat district is Carngham, which was founded in 1826 on Tasmanian purchases. In 1853 Mr. J. Russell became sole proprietor of Carngham, and the property has remained in the possession of the Russell family ever since. The Trawalla stud, which was founded in 1853 on sheep of pure Saxon blood, is one of the oldest merino studs in the vicinity of Ballarat. In 1887, when the property was acquired by Rear-Admiral Bridges… (*He married Miss Annie Wilson in 1880, daughter of John Wilson of Woodlands, who was a niece of Sir Samuel Wilson.)…rams from Tasmania were introduced, and they improved the density and weight of wool without reducing the length of staple. The estate is now in the proprietorship of Engineer-Commander H. P. Mackenzie. It is interesting to note that Carngham and Trawalla were amongst the exhibitors at the last Ballarat Sheep Show, and both were prominent prizewinners. Other studs have come into being and they have played an important part in improving the quality of the merino sheep and wool of Australia, but particularly the incomparable fine wools of the Western district of Victoria, which are the best of their type. The finest display of fine wool merinoes in Australia (which is tantamount to saying the world) is to be seen at the Ballarat Sheep Show, where representatives of leading studs meet in competition. The spectacle of sheep of the highest class assembled on the judging floor is an inspiring sight, and proves the degree of perfection that has been arrived at in the breeding of fine-wool merinoes.

The Australasian (Vic.) 12 March 1938.
Excerpt – Clydesdales – “Since the dawn of land settlement, Ballarat farmers have favoured a good class of draught horse. The “old hands” took pride in their teams, which were turned out in immaculate condition for the ploughing matches, formerly held at district centres. To score a prize was an indication that the work was well executed and finished, and the winning of a championship stamped the victor with the 18-carat hall mark. Rivarly was keen between champions, and the champion of champions was a man envied by his fellows. Success in these contests depended as much on the stauchness and activity of the units of the teams, as on the prowess of the ploughman. The value of good farm horses was thus early appreciated, and as years have gone by this self-evident fact has not been lost sight of, and in no part of the Commonwealth are better to be found….”

The Examiner (Launceston, Tas.) 4 June, 1938
THE MIDLAND COUNTRY IS TASMANIAN HOME OF THE FLOCKMASTER. DEVELOPMENT OF MERINO. Tasmania’s original sheep came from New South Wales, but with the growing importation of Saxony sheep of good blood the Merino in Tasmania developed along definite lines. The interchange of blood between the mainland and the island greatly benefited the Australian Merino breed. Sheep were first imported to Tasmania in 1803, when settlers were induced to transfer from Norfolk Island with their stock, including Bengal and Cape sheep. Three years later the first Merinoes arrived, their introduction being attributed to the enthusiasm of Captain Paterson, Lieutenant-Governor of the northern part of the island, who played a leading part in the new venture. From Captain MacArthrur he ordered 300 sheep of Merino extraction, with a view to improving the mixed breeds then on the island. Although not pure Merinoes, MacArthur’s sheep had a definite Merino strain. Of the 300 ordered 100 died during the passage to Launceston; the remainder at £5 per head, plus a grant of 4,368 acres at 7s 6d an acre, brought the purchase price of £9 a head.

Mutton or Wool. At the Hobart end the authorities were concentrating more on production for mutton owing to shortage of food, but by 1819 the Merino blood had spread through the flocks, and the improved staple brought higher prices on the London market, which had been utilized first in 1816, when 2s 6d a lb. was paid for wool. Governor Sorell distributed 181 pure Merino rams among the most capable settlers in 1820, and in 1825 the industry gained further impetus from the formation of the Van Diemen’s Land Co. The organization landed in 1827, 28 rams and 266 ewes of 310 Saxony Merinoes purchased in Germany, and in 1828, 28 rams and 668 ewes with lambs from a well-known flock in the same country. Following these importations came the purchase of 24 rams and 146 ewes from George III’s Spanish Merino flock, and by 1830 the V.D.L. Co. had 6,129 sheep, which were exceptionally well bred. A great deal of their land being unsuitable for Merinoes, however, they imported English long wools. About this time came the exodus to Port Phillip. Many settlers took their flocks to the mainland, amongst them being the Hentys, with their pure bred Merinoes. This movement relieved the congestion of the cleared pastures of the island, a congestion, which had become very serious. Immediately the industry showed increased prosperity from the lightened demand on the pastures. A study of the wool returns of Tasmania shows a remarkable growth in 1827, exports of wool totalled 192,075lb.; by 1836 the quantity exported had increased to 1,986,786lb. The industry prospered steadily until the gold rush period, 1851-53. In 1844 the quantity exported was 4,421,802lb. The flight of the men to the diggings was a decided setback, but eventually conditions righted themselves. The pure bred Merino for very many years was bred up and developed in Tasmania entirely independently of the industry on the mainland. In fact, the Australian Merino, as evolved in Tasmania, had become a definite type before the exchange of blood began to take place. The pure flocks of the island drew their foundation sheep from the same sources, as did New South Wales from Germany and England.

Source of Pure Flocks. And the bulk of the sheep were Saxonies from the same studs. This was the most beneficial to the industry as a whole, for although of the same blood, the sheep developed differently because of the difference in climate and fodder. In representatives of both lines of breeding, were fine point, not altogether common to both. The result was that when the time came for an interchange of blood in both the island Merino and the mainland types, the sheep and wool faults could be eradicated more rapidly and easily, both having arrived at a uniform stage of development. Though Tasmania did not begin her sheep history until a little later than New South Wales, it is interesting to note that she began the building up of the pure bred Merino studs at practically the same date. The beginning in New South Wales was really the sale of the Waterhouse flock in 1810 to Cox. In Cox of Clarendon we find that one of the earliest – if not the first – to go in for pure bred Merinoes was James Cox of Clarendon, a son of William Cox of New South Wales, who founded his stud in 1812. This first stud flock grew to be very famous and to have a huge influence upon the industry in the island, supplying the foundation blood, which were to be world famous at a later date. In the foundation of this Clarendon flock there is a very interesting connection with New South Wales, for Cox obtained his original sheep, one ram and seven ewes, from MacArthur of Camden. They were not bred in New South Wales, but were part of an importation made by MacArthur from Electoral stud at Hamburg. Tasmania appears to have been more fortunate than New South Wales, in that in the early days of the industry, there more breeders went in for importing pure blood, so that by about 1840, there were actually more pure bred Merino flocks of the best imported blood than in the older colony. There again aparently was the hand of Providence, for Tasmania, from 1836 on was to send some of the best of its flocks to found the industry in the new colony of Victoria, when island and mainland bloods were to be fused to create one more distinct branch of the family tree of the Australian Merino. The ultimate result was a constant interchange and mingling of the blood of the three branches for the benefit of the whole.

The Spanish Strain. It has been an outstanding characteristic of the Spanish Merino from which all other Merino sheep are descended to develop upon certain definite lines according to the climatic conditions and type of food available. In considering the revolution of the Australian branch to its present stage of perfection it would seem that the rapid strides made have been because (a) Climate and food conditions here have been more suitable than in any other home the much travelled Merino has found (b) The blood of its foundation stock was drawn from the well-developed parent flocks of the Old World (c) The size of the continent and the different in natural conditions between Tasmania and the mainland allowed the main stems and then a third arising out of the first two to be developed almost simultaneously. In order to follow the later developments of the Merino in Victoria, it would now be as well to review the early pioneers of the pure breed of Merinoes in Tasmania. James Cox of Clarendon has been already mentioned. The Clarendon flock was kept pure and steadily improved by judicious breeding, classing, and importations. The next addition was a ram imported by Gillies from the flock of the Elector of Hanover. This was described as a sheep of splendid quality. He was followed by a ram imported from Saxony by Newton and Sons of Symmons Plains, who described him as being remarkable for fineness and brightness of colour. Another excellent ram was obtained from Leake of Ashby who had a pure Saxony flock. Cox gave £100 for his sheep in the early twenties. This purchase was a departure from his policy of importing when fresh blood was required. The Clarendon sheep became famous for symmetry as well as for the quality and lustre of the wool. During the 60 years after its foundation, the main flocks of the island drew blood from it.

A. Leake of Ashby. The flock of A. Leake of Ashby was one of the earliest and best of the pure flocks. Founded by A. Leake in 1819 the original importations were from the stud of the Elector of Saxony – one of the very foremost flocks in Germany. These importations were worthy representatives, the wool showing density, evenness, splendid quality and elasticity. The standard, kept up for many years, was eventually ruined by injudicious experiments with outside blood in order to get a longer staple. Leake imported two rams from the Steiger flock. One of these was the famous “No. 203.” He was by the “Battersea” ram, so called because he was exhibited there in 1862. “Battersea” was afterwards sold to Lloyd of New South Wales for £400. He was by “President” – considered to be the best ram in Europe. No. 203 was generally adjudged a wonderful sheep. His wool was lustrous, fine all over and entirely free from kemp. His frame was not so good. It is thought that the only reason why Steiger let him go, for he was one of twelve reserved for use in his own stud. This was the ram that afterwards went first to G. Parramore of Wetmore and Beaufront, and then to David Taylor of St. Johnstone. It is impossible to estimate the great influence that he had in Tasmania. His progeny was splendid; one ram by him cut 16lb. as a six-tooth. For uniformity and quality, Leake considered him the best sheep bred in Tasmania.

W. Archer, of Brickendon. The Brickendon flock was founded in 1824 with 30 pure Merinoes imported from England and two rams. These ewes were very densely woolled and fine in quality, but very short stapled – only about an inch in length. Archer continued breeding with this blood until 1854, when he bought some of J. Youl’s best ewes. This blood nicked splendidly and from its introduction, the length of staple steadily increased without losing in density and quality.

R. Willis, of Wanstead. Willis founded the stud at Wanstead Park in 1824 with 50 selected ewes and three rams chosen by himself from the flock of George III, at Kew, England. For 10 years the flock was bred in and up with no outside introductions; in 1834, rams were obtained from the famous Furlonge stud, which was founded on the best blood in Saxony. These rams were good sheep, but smaller in frame, and the wool was shorter in staple than the Wanstead stock, but with all the density and beauty that chacterised the sheep of Saxony. In 11837 the bulk of the Wanstead Park stud went to Victoria, where it became famous at Koolamurt.

Wetmore and Beaufront. This famous flock was founded in 1825 by G. Parramore, with three ewes and a ram, imported from the stud of the Elector of Saxony by Gillis and Horney in 1823. In 1829 a ram imported from Saxony by Stephens was added to the flock, and also two ewes that were brought out by Mrs. Furlonge. In 1833 and 1837 pure Saxony sheep were obtained from the Van Diemen’s Land Co., and in 1838 again from the Furlonges. In 1869 the famous Steiger Ram No. 203 was used; he was sold as an old sheep to David Taylor. The next step was the introduction of the Mona Vale ram, Sir Robert, used in 1871-75. Sir Robert was by a Steiger ram from a Mona Vale ewe. He sired Wool King, a ram that was sold to Dowling and Son, of Jellalabad (Victoria), for £300 and a half the first year’s progeny from picked ewes. Sir Robert’s influence was excellent, the flock gaining particularly in length of staple and in the quality of the wool. The Parramore flock was divided in 1876, T. Parramore taking Beaufront, and G. Parramore, Wetmore. The Parramore blood has gone all over Australia, having a great influence on the development of the Australian Merino. The great Belle Vue stud was founded with this blood. The famous Sir Thomas, which was bred there, was descended from a Parramore ram. In 1878 the wool averaged 3s 8d all around. In 1877 the flock averaged about 7lb. in the grease. In 1825 George Hobler imported two pure Merinoes from Germany. Then in the following year, the Wedge brothers imported ewes and rams from England. They bred these up for 10 years, when the bulk of the flock was taken to Victoria. The Wedge sheep were exceptionally good, and had a good influence. The Carngham (Victoria) flock was founded on this blood.

W. Kermode of Mona Vale. The stud at Mona Vale was founded in 1829 with ewes and rams imported from Saxony by the Van Diemen’s Land Company. By 1837 the stud had grown to 100 ewes; no other blood but imported rams was introduced up to the sale of the stud in 1872. In the early fifties, Steiger rams were successfully introduced, one costing £150. By 1855 the flock numbered some 2000 ewes of excellent quality, the wool being fine, dense, and long in staple. The policy of constantly importing fresh Saxony blood was carried on with great success. One Steiger ram bought in Melbourne in 1857 for £180 averaged 20lb. of wool for years. In 1873 an Ercildoune (Victoria) was introduced. This sheep was much akin to the Mona Vale Flock, for in 1862, Learmonth of Ercildoune got 100 ewes from Mona Vale through Thomas Shaw, and it was from these ewes that this ram was descended. In 1876 Kermode got a ram from D. Taylor, of St. Johnstone, which was descended from a Mona Vale ewe. The flock had a great influence not only in Tasmania, but throughout Australia. The sheep were excellent in constitution and most adaptable. All three Kermodes – the founder and the two who carried on after him – were great sheepmen. From 1856-76 the wool averaged 2s 7 3/4d per lb. The prizes taken in Australian make a formidable list. Mona Vale did good work for the industry. As far back as 1877 it evolved a sheep that was a heavy cutter. The rams averaged 11lb. greasy, and the wool was fine, of splendid quality, dense and long stapled.

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 18 November, 1939
TO THE EDITOR OF ‘THE AUSTRALASIAN.” Sir, Of nonagenarian interest in the breeding of sheep, cattle, and horses, some 74 years of which have been spent in the pastoral and agricultural industries of Australia, I desire to express my appreciation of the articles lately appearing in your columns from the pen of “Maranoa,” particularly of his research into the ancient history of the merino. The first human covering we read of was fashioned from fig tree leaves, and next a more substantial covering from the skins of beasts, and as knowledge increased and skill in weaving dawned upon humanity, the transition from skins to the woven hair of shaggy animals such as goats, sheep, and camels produced a more comfortable variety of covering. Naturally, the softer hair of the sheep would soon gain popularity, and coming later into competition with the silken fabrics of ancient China, sheep owners would evolve a race of primitive Peppins and selection for better quality and deeper fleeces would begin and continue down the centuries together with other civilized improvements. Thus it happened that when the forceful Macarthur opened his eyes to the destiny of our Australian pastures we were able to draw from the sheepfolds of France and Germany, and the later established sheepfolds of America, a classic foundation stock of merinoes of centuries of breeding, which we have multiplied, but, with all our modern skill, not marvelously improved according to the writer’s memory of “Emperor.” Luckily our first importations were introduced to the most congenial of our Australian pastures, such as Tasmania, Camden, Mudgee, and western Victoria, and textile manufacturers overseas quickly realised the value and importance of our Australian production.

The first disposition of flock owners was to preserve and if possible improve on its silky character, and from far back associations the writer believes that the elder Shaw, with his sons, Thomas and Jonathan, exercised the greatest influence in raising the standard of quality for which so many Victorian stations became notable, and Ercildoune famous. With the increase of the early flocks the expansion of area became desirable both to Victorian and New South Wales flock owners, for which Riverina offered an outlet, if perhaps of less favourable climate and terrain to that of earlier occupation, and it is to the credit of Jonathan Shaw, as a sheep classer, that he modified the inherited predilection for quality when he came to deal with flocks in Riverina where shadeless plains and red dust perished half the staple of anything approaching the superfine, reducing it to mere moil in the hands of the manufacturer. The earliest migration into Riverina came from the premier State by way of Goulburn and Yass, reaching the Murrumbidgee in the early fifties or thereabouts, and later Victorian-bred flocks confronted them in that vicinity. And then, as observed by “Maranoa,” there was conflict of judgment for a time as to which were the better flocks, and from early memory of the migrants the strains from Mudgee and Havilah were denser in covering, and consequently more resistant to adverse conditions in inland pastures. Wagga, then not much more than a funny name on the map, staged the first sheep show in Riverina in 1865, but it is amazing how little is on record of these early incidents or at least the difficulty of tracing them. The writer passed through Wagga that same year, but it would have been ridiculous presumption on his part to assume that in this distant year of our Lord he would seek to know the prize- winners and judges of that day. Hay and Jerilderie followed in 1871, while Deniliquin, destined to become more important than either, lingered until some years later. At the Hay Show, Emperor was easily champion, and what merit the Illillawa champion ewe possessed came from Havilah and not from Victoria. She had density with unusual length and beauty of character to the very tip, so that a devotee to the fine-wool cult of the Shaws declared her the best he had ever handled. By this time Victoria had reached its zenith in quality, and the inflated ram prices were an hysterical result, because few sheep-breeders had then realized that the cast ewes and flock rams of that cult made a sorry start for the pioneers of western Queensland, and accounted later for the scandalous shearing tallies of that period, when they were joyfully reported by the shearers as running into hundreds a man a day, and applauded by the uninitiated ignorant of the cause and its results. Looking back again through the arches of the years, it appears to the writer that these excited bids occurring spasmodically in stock husbandry are more often a fetish to spectacular advertisement than a progressive step in classic improvement. Having thus made a fragmentary review of the fine-wool era, we would later, with your kind permission, follow “Maranoa” into the period of the medium and the strong associated with the ringing slogan, “Peppin blood.”
Yours, &c., RON GRANT, Leeton (N.S.W.)

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 23 November, 1940
Ercildoune, of Long Story, has been the Home of Progress, Romance, and Royalty. By R. W. E. Wilmot. ERCILDOUNE, one of the most famous pastoral properties in Victoria, has, in its history of 102 years, been held by only three owners. It was founded by Thomas, David (?) and Somerville Livingston Learmonth in 1838. It was sold to the late Sir Samuel Wilson in 1872, and passed into the hands of Sir Alan Currie in 1920. The name Ercildoune is pure Scottish. It reeks of the heather. It recalls Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns. It harks back to the Border Wars. It is a village in the heart of Scott’s country at the foot of the Eildon hills in Berwickshire, on the banks of the Leader River, one of the tributaries of the Tweed. It dates back to the 13th century. On the map of Scotland you will find its other name – Earlston – and if you delve still further into its history you will find the Gaelic Arciol-Dun (“the look-out hill”). Not far away are Ettrick, Eildon, and Gala, there names perpetuated in Victoria by the Currie family at Lismore.

Ettrick was the home of the late Mr. Sibbald Currie. Eildon was where the late Brigadier Street and his wife, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Currie, lived, and just beyond is Gala, the original home of Mr. Edwin Currie. There is a further link between Ercildoune and Gala, for the Ercildoune flock is of Gala origin.

“Thomas the Rhymer”
Thomas of Ercildoune, commonly known as “Thomas the Rhymer,” a poet and prophet of Scotland, of the 13th century, was an ancestor of the Livingston Learmonth family. The famous Eildon Tree, under whose shadows “The Rhymer” delivered his prophecies, does not exist; but the spot where it stood is marked by “The Eildon Tree” stone. When the Learmonth brothers built their Homestead near Lake Burrumbeet they chose a design of typical Scottish architecture, with a tower, a facsimile of the Border towers of Scotland. They built into the walls of the house a stone they had taken from the Rhymer’s tower……

The house at Ercildoune, begun in 1838 and finished in 1854, is of two stories, built of granite quarried on the property. It has retained its erst-while dignity. In all the improvements that have been necessary to keep it up to date it has never lost its original character. While waiting for his Homestead to be built Mr. Learmonth lived in a two-story building of two rooms composed of hand-made bricks. On the ground floor was the kitchen and living room. Upstairs was a bedroom, the walls being of slabs of blackwood. This building is still standing, and the upstairs room is used as a spare bedroom. It has been most carefully preserved, for Sir Alan Currie has great reverence for age and for tradition.

Amongst Earliest Settlers. The Learmonths were among the earliest settlers to arrive in Victoria in 1837 from Tasmania. They brought with them 2,000 sheep, and pitched their tents some 20 miles from Geelong. New arrivals came who did not dare to go more than 25 miles inland because they feared the blacks, and had no knowledge of what was beyond, but gradually the more adventurous decided to explore. They found the settlement becoming too crowded. In the spring of 1837 the Learmonths struck out for the north-west, and reached Mt. Buninyong, but the prospect was not alluring, and they returned to Geelong. Nearly a year later they made another exploration, and this time they reached the northern shore of Lake Burrumbeet. They looked out over that beautiful stretch of open country, saw that it was good, and took it up. The Learmonth brothers were lovers of the beautiful. In addition to the house, they established a garden, which covered 13 acres. They brought from Scotland the trees for the gardens – the oaks, elms, poplars, chestnuts, and planes. All were in pots, and many of these are still standing, over 100ft. high. They laid down a beautiful winding road of approach for a mile and a half flanked with Mediterranean pines and deodars. The year 1872 was disastrous, a law action had failed, the country was ravaged by drought, and when the station was raided by an infamous bushranger named Gowrie the Learmonths had had enough. The bushranger, who had made a fortified cave on the Ercildoune Hill, made repeated raids on the surrounding country, and when he stuck up the Homestead, he got many hundreds of sovereigns.

Return to England. Thomas Learmonth escaped and galloped to Mt. Mitchell to warn the Robertsons. They had 1,500 sovereigns, which they hid in a sack of flour, and the bushranger was foiled. Shortly after Gowrie was shot dead by a police constable on Ercildoune Hill, and his skull is still preserved at the station. The Learmonths sold the property to Sir Samuel Wilson and returned to England. Sir Samuel Wilson took charge in 1872, and made great improvements. He laid out a walled garden of about an acre, subdivided by Cyprus hedges and surrounded by a 10ft. wall. It is a delightfully peaceful spot. Among its treasures is a marble Wellhead more than 2,000 years ago in Palestine. Soon after Sir Samuel Wilson bought the property the drought broke, bountiful seasons followed, and in a few years Sir Samuel Wilson had paid off all the liabilities and was a very rich man. He was keenly interested in the acclimatization of fish. He imported ova from Scotland and established a hatcher for trout, which is still distributing thousands of young trout to stock streams all over Australia.

Gift to University. Sir Samuel Wilson, in addition to developing his flocks, entered the political arena and became a member of the Legislative Assembly for the Wimmera. He gave freely to various charities, and gave the University £30,000 towards the cost of the Wilson Hall, named in his honour. He was knighted in 1875. The original Ercildoune run taken up by the Messrs. Learmonth embraced 400 square miles. The boundary was marked by a plough furrow, which ran from Mt. Buninyong to Lake Burrumbeet on to the Beaufort Ranges thence to Mt. Mitchell, and back to the point of commencement. This vast demesne was held under lease from the Crown, but when it became freehold the area was reduced to 33,000 acres, the balance reverting to the Crown or being sold for closer settlement. That was the extent of the property when Sir Samuel Wilson purchased it. Gradually the area diminished, until the Ercildoune purchased by Sir Alan Currie was only 12,000 acres. Subsequently he sold 5,000 acres to the Government for closer settlement, and the area became what it is today – 7,000 acres.

German Sheep. The original flock of Messrs. Learmonth sprang from sheep imported from Tasmania, the offspring of a flock purchased by Mrs. Furlong in Germany. She drove her sheep across Europe, shipped them to England, and thence to Tasmania, whence they were transshipped to Victoria. During Sir Samuel Wilson’s time the sheep depasturing on Ercildoune were from the Mt. Bute flock. When Sir Alan Currie took over the property he brought with him from Mt. Elephant his share of the Gala flock, and this is intact today. About 15 years ago Sir Alan Currie acquired from Mr. Thomas Shaw the Woori-Wyrite flock, the originators of which came from the stud of King George III at Hampton Court on the Thames. This flock has been kept intact, and when the Duke of Gloucester visited Ercildoune in 1834 he helped to shear half a dozen sheep. The wool was sent to Geelong, and before the Duke left Victoria he was presented with a scarf made there-from.

Chain of Lakes. Just in front of the Ercildoune Homestead is an ornamental lake, the last of five, the first being 200ft. above the house. The springs, which supply this chain of lakes, provide power and irrigation. Ercildoune has always been famous for its fine wool.

Ercildoune still retains its reputation. Much of the country is hilly and broken, but it has been sown don in ryegrass, and its production has been increased. Sir Alan Currie takes a personal interest in woolgrowing and in the fish hatchery. For many years he also had a bloodstock stud but this was dispersed. He maintains his interest in horses, however, and is chairman of the Victoria Racing Club. He served in the last war with distinction, being awarded the Military Cross “for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty.” When the war was over he returned to Victoria, and is still serving his country as a member of the Legislative Council.

Smith’s Weekly (Sydney, NSW) 2 November 1940
THE LORD OF FLEMINGTON. Excerpts – Meanchile, J. L. Currie had purchased from the late Sir Samuel Wilson, the splendid pastoral estate “Ercildoune,” on the rich, rolling downs at the head of Lake Burrumbeet, in the Ballarat district. So much could be written of “Ercildoune.” Rightly has it been styled Australia’s most beautiful estate… It is interesting to note that, although Allan Currie may never have intended to become a pastoralist, the “Ercildoune” clip has been admitted by experts to be the finest out of Australia..

The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.) 12 April 1941
CATTLE HISTORY. Herefords Spread Over the Earth. By R.V.B. Having developed their cattle to a high standard, eclipsing even the improved Shorthorn in some respects, the Hereford breeders of England soon established a lucrative export trade in pedigreed stock. A few of the breed were sent out to North America, before 1830, but these were of doubtful breeding lines. The Hereford invasion of America commenced in 1840, when several consignments of purebreds were sent to the U.S.A. Then followed more or less regular shipments, and by the late 70’s there were more Herefords in the U.S.A. and Canada than in Britain. Australian pastoralists, however, were among the first to develop the Hereford breed in a big way outside England. The Cressy Company, of Van Diemen’s Land, was the principal pioneer of the breed in the Australian colonies. Indeed, this company was the first to bring Herefords to the Southern Hemisphere. Ten years before the Batman landing (1835) at the site of Melbourne, the Cressy Company was importing Herefords and other stock that were destined to lay the foundations of many of the renowned stud hers and flocks of Australia. The Cressy pioneer cattle of this breed were a bull named Billy and three cows, Matchless, Beauty, and another unnamed. Many importations were made subsequently by the company, which, in turn, supplied stud cattle bred in Tasmania to most of the studs that were founded on the mainland during the squatting period “before the gold.” The principal pioneer herd of Port Phillip was that established at Ercildoune by the Livingstone Learmonths. Cressy Company cattle acquired in 1839 provided the foundation of this herd, but in later years, high-grade animals were imported direct from England to Ercildoune, which became quite a Mecca for Hereford fanciers, as it was also for merino sheep-breeders. Hobbler, Cox, Gibson, Bryant, Robertson, Williams, Taylor, Rouse, Reynolds, Loder, Prica, Angas, Beattie, Nolan, Barnes, Smith, White, Dobie, Miles, and Wyndham are other names of Australian pastoralists who built up the reputation of the Hereford in the early colonial days. Others were in the picture, and as time went on many more came into prominence, but I think the names that have been given were leading Hereford men of their times in Australia, and the Cressy Company deserves a niche at the top on the record board of Australian Hereford renown. The spread of the Herefords to New Zealand was not commenced till 1875, when a bull named Duke of Edinburgh, bred by Queen Victoria, and Princess Helena, also bred at the Royal Stud, were imported by the Maclean Brothers, of Auckland. Nor had many Herefords found their way to South America till the late 70’s or early 80’s. It was the high praise won by the breed in Australia and the United States, that first aroused the interest of the South American cattlemen, but once the breed became known to the South Americans, it came more and more into demand, and there has since been a regular export of the best of their cattle from Britain for stud purposes to the estancias of the Argentine and other parts of South America. Herefords are popular in South Africa, where some first-class studs are established. The breed has a sound footing in Jamaica, East Africa, in parts of the East, in Russia, and is perhaps the most widely distributed of any type of cattle in the world. It has “furnished the earth.”

The Herald (Melbourne, Vic.) 14 April 1943.
FOR SALE – A LINK WITH SPACIOUS DAYS. Reminder!!! Ercildoune Estate – Magnificent Western District Property – Friday Next – (Newspaper Advert.). The world is full of reminders these days. And in the local scene none can give them better than the ghosts which haunt the long corridors of “Ercildoune,” watched by the leering skull of bushranger Gowrie. “Ercildoune” is Australia’s stateliest mansion. A two-storey granite pile, with lofty windows and admirable masonry, its lawns and terraces sweep down to the banks of Lake Burrumbeet. An avenue of Mediterranean pines, 1½ miles long, fronts its portals. Its Adam mantel shelves and Chippendale furniture and mirrors are part of half-forgotten world in which the Victorian squatter lived like royalty, when Wendouree Promenade, in nearby Ballarat, was the Rotten Row. “Ercildoune” has known much of royalty since it was founded by the Learmonth brothers, the day Queen Victoria ascended the throne, and named them after a 13th century Scottish border keep. It was sold to Sir Samuel Wilson in 1872 (sic.), and again in 1897 (sic.) to the late Sir Alan Currie, who entertained the Duke of Gloucester there in 1934. In all the years nothing troubled “Ercildoune’s” tranquil loveliness and luxury – except bushranger Gowrie. But they caught and shot him and placed his skull in the mansion he had tried to rob. Who now can afford the cooks, butlers, maids, footmen, gardeners, and grooms needed to make life in “Ercildoune” all it used to be? Perhaps there are other uses for stately “Ercildoune”? That will be revealed when the auctioneer’s hammer falls on Friday.

The Sun (Sydney, NSW) 18 April 1943
A millionaire bid for Ercildoune. FACTS. Melbourne Correspondent. One of Australia’s stateliest mansions went under the auctioneer’s soulless hammer this week. Of the 300 who attended the Ercildoune auction this week, north of Victoria’s Lake Burrumbeet, in Ballarat district, only two made bids. More than 100 years ago two Scottish brothers, Thomas and Somerville Learmouth, bult their great masion from locally-hewn granite, named it Ercildoune after their ancestors’ 13th century Scottish border keep. The estate was founded on the day Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in 1838. Ercildoune was set about with native Scottish trees sailed out from Scotland, a driveway avenue a mile and a half long, of Mediterranean pines and deodars. Ercildoune furniture and fittings delight connoisseurs. A marble well-head in the grounds is more than 2000 years old. In 1934 the Duke of Gloucester stayed, admired the fine merinos for which Ercildoune was famous. Shortly before Ercildoune’s second owner took over in 1872, the mansion was robbed by the bushranger Gowrie. Gowrie was later shot dead by Police on Ercildoune Hill, and his skull, marked by bullet holes through the forehead and back, is still at Ercildoune. This week’s bidders were meat millionaire Sir Wiliam Angliss, who offered £7 an acre and Cecil McKay of the McKay Harvester Company, who called £7 5 s. But £55,172 10s was not enough. Ercildoune was passed in for private treaty.

The Tweed Daily (Murwillumbah, NSW) 21 April 1943
THE PASSING SHOW. (By “Barnabus”) Reminder!!! Ercildoune Estate – Auction Sale – Magnnificent Western District property – Friday next – (Recent Newspaper Advert). The world is full of reminders these days. And in the local scene none can give them better than the ghosts which haunt the long corridors of “Ercildoune,” watched by the leering skull of bushranger Gowrie. “Ercildoune” is Australia’s stateliest mansion. A two-storey granite pile with lofty windows and admirable masonry, its lawns and terraces sweep down to the banks of Lake Burrumbeet, in Victoria. An avenue of Mediterranean pines, 1½ miles long, fronts its portals. Its Adam mantel shelves and Chippendale furniture and mirrors are part of a half-forgotten world in which the Victorian squatter lived like royalty, when Wendouree Promenade, in nearby Ballarat, was the Rotten Row. “Ercildoune” has known much of royalty since it was founded by the Learmonth brothers, the day Queen Victoria ascended the throne, and named by them after a 13th century Socttish border keep. It was sold to Sir Samuel Wilson in 1872, and again in 1897 (sic.) to the late Sir Alan Currie, who entertained the Duke of Gloucester there in 1934. In all the years nothing troubled “Ercildoune’s” tranquil loveliness and luxury – except bushranger Gowrie. But they caught and shot him and placed his skull in the mansion he had tried to rob. Who now can afford the cooks, butlers, maids, footmen, gardeners and grooms needed to make life in “Ercildoune” all it used to be? Perhaps there are other uses for stately “Ercildoune?”

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) 23 May 1950
ADAM LINDSAY GORDON. Our horseman poet rode in steeples. By R. S. Ridgway. It is fitting that a memorial to Adam Lindsay Gordon should be unveiled on Friday at Coleraine’s Great Western Steeplechase meeting, which he immortalized in his poem “The fields of Coleraine.” When Gordon wrote:

‘On the fields of Colerain there’ll be labour in vain
Before the Great Western is ended.
The nags will have toil’d, and the silks will be soil’d.
And the rails will require to be mended.”

He was writing from personal experience, as he rode in several Great Westerns. In 1864, with his own mare, the grey Modesty, he was second to Ingleside. There was a poetic flavor about the 1864 Great Western. Gordon, of course, was a pot, and Robert Learmonth, who owned and rode the winner, Ingleside, was a lineal descendant of a famous Scottish bard, Robert of Ercildoune, also known as Thomas the Rhymer. I think it was one of the Learmonths who built Ercildoune Homestead at Burrumbeet, for years the home of the late Sir Alan Currie. In 1865 Gordon rode Ballarat, another notable chaser, but finished only third to Ingleside and Blueskin. Gordon was unlucky, as Ballarat aparently had the race won, when he fell two fences from the finish. Gordon never won a Great Western. He received some compensation for the defeat of Ballarat by winning the Maiden Steeplechase with his own horse Cadger.

The Courier (Ballarat, Vic.) 1 February 1961
…Among the most noted sires of this period was Golden Fleece, a ram whose name was remembered for many years afterwards in the stud, his descendants appearing frequently in prize lists. With such a valuable stud in the making, it is a great shame that the Messrs Learmonth did not keep fuller records – or if they did, few if any have survived.

Mr. T. Shaw, Sen., and his work. It would appear that much assistance in the management of the early stud was given by…..was followed up by Mr Jonathan Shaw, afterwards of Wooriwyrite. Culling in the stud was always heavy, but after 1873, more and more breeding ewes were graded into the stud, partly by the retention of aged ewes of first quality, giving a wider choice of selection. The sheep continued to develop a robust, well formed carcass. The staple of the wool was long with high quality and great lustre and beauty. Extra weight was gained by increasing the wool on the head, shoulders and lower parts of the body. Fineness of staple was no longer the sole consideration, though always a feature.

Selection. Besides close attention to type, the increased number of breeding ewes gave the stud classer a wider selection, in that it was preferable to retain the top four from every ten than from every five in the breeding flock. Great care was exercised in the preparation of the wool, which for many years was sold in London. Before shearing, the sheep were brought in to the “sheep-wash” where they were thoroughly washed by trained men and removed to the drying paddocks alongside the wool-shed for five to seven days. Special attention was given to grassing these small paddocks to avoid bare patches and consequent dust. If a fence-post had to be replaced turf had to be planted around the base. The site of the old sheep-wash is still visible, where an ample supply of water was run off from the creek. Swamps were drained, grasses sown and irrigation practiced with the water used in sheep-washing “which is highly charged with Potash, ammonia and other valuable fertilizing elements which are usually wasted,” Sir Samuel wrote. Pressing and dumping machinery, worked by horsepower, was introduced, thereby economizing manual labour. Shearing was done by a double board of 24 blade shearers, the introduction of machines being confined to comparatively recent years. In earlier times, up to 80 men were commonly employed at shearing. Classing and get-up of the wool received the closes attention.

Prices. Prices realized in the early times form an interesting comparison. In 1878, the clip of 432 bales averaged almost 3/ lb., with the top 100 bales at 3/11 ¼ lb., average weight 251 lbs., returning £49/8/1 each. Later prices fell by more than 1/ lb. and stock prices fell in proportion. At the same period, rams sold at the Melbourne auctions for £243/5/ each for the best three, increasing in spite of lower wool prices in 1882 to £283/10/. Rams in those days were weighed and measured every month to record their progress, the heaviest four averaging 193½ lbs. in August.

The 20 best averaged about 2 ft. 6 ins. High at the shoulder and 2 ft. 5 1/3 ins. at the rump. A significant point is that, while the numbers in the stud continued to rise, the wool weights and the quality of fleece also improved. At the International Wool Exhibition, held in the Crystal Palace, Ercildoune wool was awarded first prize for washed wool, the Drapers’ Company gold medal and a silver medal against world competition. It obtained a gold medal for Victorian wool at the Parish exhibition. At the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880, Ercildoune gained five firsts, a second and third, the grand champion gold medal for collective Merino wool exhibit; also a gold medal for the most valuable 24 ewe fleeces. These fleeces averaged 5 lbs. 4½ ozs., valued at 2/8 lb. or 14/1 a sheep. These are only a few of the international awards received, and the reputation of the stud continued well into the present century for producing “the most beautiful wool in Australia” as well as topping the world’s markets.

Huge Areas.. Excerpt…the huge size of the holdings in the earlier times when communications were slow and unreliable. Ercildoune, when Sir Samuel Wilson acquired it, consisted of 40,000 acres – less than half the original selection by the Learmonths. At the same time, he also owned Mt. Bute station of 72,000 acres including Gnarkeet and Naringhil on which he ran about 50,000 sheep and an experimental flock of about 200 goats!

Last year, Mr H. J. Collins, who owns the Mt. Bute block near Linton, won the fleece completion at the Ballarat show, while Mrs Collins won the Dorran aggregate at the Mannibadar fleece competitions. The Wilson estates, also embraced Yanko station or more than 100,000 acres near Narrandera, NSW, and interests in several other properties. The general manager for these estates was Mr Brownless and in later years, much of the work passed through Mr Archibald Fisken, grandfather of Mr A. C. Fisken…
Offshoot. An early offshoot was the Carrs Plains Merino stud near Stawell, conducted for many years by the late Holford Wettenhall on Ercildoune blood. Later Carrs Plains rams were crossed with pure Lincoln ewes and the progeny crossed back to establish the Polwarth breed in Victoria.

The growth of Ercildoune stud from 1860-91 coincided with the enormous expansion of Australia’s sheep population in those years from 20 million to nearly 106½ million – a figure not reached again until 1930. Improvements were carried out to the water supply, sheds and the Homestead itself – a massive two-storey structure of grey granite blocks quarried on the place, together with hand-made bricks. Similar materials were used in the large stables (now the garages), the schoolhouse and men’s cottages. Of interest is the original shepherd’s hut built with split timber on the bank of the creek with a cellar underneath for storage. Planting of shade and ornamental trees has established a wonderful collection of plantations. The drive of more than a mile of alternate pines and cedars has now reached a stage where it is not longer safe to drive under the limbs, which collapse with every storm.

On the death of Sir Samuel Wilson, the estates were gradually dispersed, by his administrators. For some years he had spent most of his time in England, only coming out for brief periods. Only 18,000 acres of Ercildoune remained when it was sold in 1921 to Major (afterwards Sir Alan) Currie at a figure reported to be £100,000 walk-in, walk-out. This was further reduced by the sale of 11,000 acres to the Closer Settlement Commission, leaving the present area of some 7000 acres.

Carried On. In the 123 years of its existence, there have only been two exchanges of ownership at Ercildoune. Saddest feature of the changes in recent years has been the decline and dispersal of the once famous Merino stud. Among various reasons offered, the present of footrot appears to have become a great burden. The extensive sale pens fell into disuse and became known as the “footing shed.” Crossbreds were introduced and more cattle were run on the improved pastures. Last of the Merinos appear to have been a small stud of pure Camden blood, introduced in later years, which was sold to Mr Bill Buckland, then to Mt. Beckworth, Clunes. These too, have since been dispersed and no trace remains of the Saxon sheep.

The woolshed, rebuilt by Sir Alan Currie, now employs six machine stands to handle the 10-11,000 sheep. Much of the original blackwood timber and heavy gauge roofing is still in use. Hereford cattle 7-8,000 in number, are run for breeding and fattening, about 200 being topped off annually. The sheep are chiefly Corriedales, joined to Wanganella rams for replacement purposes. The blood horses, for which the place was famous, and nearly all the ponies have gone only a few stock horses being kept. Mechanisation is almost complete, the extensive range of tractors, trucks, hay-making and other equipment being in the hands of Mr Wilfred Coulter, who has spent his life on Ercildoune, where his father was previously overseer for many years.

Apart from an area of oats each year, some 15,000 bales of meadow hay are harvested for stock reserves. Some of the old drying paddocks are now sown to lucerne about 200 tons of which are cut annually. Wool is loaded by a mechanical hoist and sheep are dipped by the latest pressure spray system, both tractor powered. So the order changed.

The Illawarra Daily Mercury (Wollongong, NSW) 10 March 1851, The Northern Star (Lismore, NSW) 17 March 1851 and The Cairns Post (Qld.) 19 March 1951
Australoddities. (By Bill Beatty.) One of the finest homes in the Commonwealth is “Ercildoune,” Victoria. The mansion has a beautiful setting surrounded by trees, all of which were brought out by sailing ship from Scotland. The main drive-way from the entrance gate to the house is an avenue one and a half miles in length. “Ercildoune” was built by two brothers, Thomas and Somerville Learmonth, from granite obtained in the neighbourhood. They named it after their ancestors’ 13th century estate on the Scottish border. The building was finished on the day in 1838 when Queen Victoria ascended the throne (inaccurate details……) The furnishings contain many priceless works of art, the envy of connoisseurs. In the grounds is a wonderful marble well-head, brought from Europe, and more than 2,000 years old. A unique memento at “Ercildoune” is the skull of the bushranger Gowrie. It is pierced with two bullet marks – one through the forehead and the other through the back. In 1872 the mansion was robbed by this bushranger. Later he was shot dead on that part of the property known as Ercildoune Hill.

The Australian Dictionary of Biography – Online Edition –states that Thomas’s report to Latrobe, with its accompanying map, illustrates the partners’ drive and intelligence. Ercildoun furniture in the Ballarat Art Gallery displays their taste. They were strict Presbyterians, whose departure has been attributed to their belief that they were unjustly treated in the notorious case of the Mount Egerton mine. But as heirs of Scotland and India, undoubtedly the brothers were versed in shrewd calculation and finesse. Despite their close attention to Thomas Shaw’s Australian merino, they were essentially detached, investing sojourners, not inextricably entangled. Thomas junior, who finally possessed Parkhall, married in 1856 Louisa (d. 1878) youngest daughter of Major-General Sir Thomas Valiant, and in 1879 the fourth daughter of Lestock Reid (Mrs. John Learmonth’s uncle), of the Bombay Civil Service, whose second daughter married Somerville in 1860. (Thomas and Somerville were married to sisters.)

Salmon of the Antipodes by John Clements states that – “Although it lacks some of the architectural splendor of some better known colonial homes, it is still a magnificent building predating most others and with a history few rural properties can equal in Victoria. Just think, it was there – at least the first part of the structure – when Melbourne was still largely a collection of tents and crude wooden buildings along the banks of the Yarra River.”

“The house was filled with the finest furniture and draped in a beautiful garden of the choicest exotic flora. An ornamental lake was created and adorned with white swans and the gardens with English songbirds. By the 1850’s Ercildoune had become one of, if not the stateliest properties in rural Victoria, and the Learmonth’s were noted for their hospitality and charitable work.

The Ballarat Courier (Vic.) 30 May 2001
Relic returns. An imported Palestinian well-head dating back to Jesus’ time has returned to its home of about 130 years, ending a mysterious four-year absence from Ercildoune Homestead, near Burrumbeet. It is believed the piece could fetch more than $1 million on the black market. The wealthy family of Sir Samuel Wilson brought the ornamental pink marble well-head to the property in the 1870’s, but the well-head was unlawfully removed in 1998 when the homestead was sold. As part of its heritage registration, the four-tonne well-head must remain where originally placed. Heritage Victoria had reported a former owner to the police and subsequently he was placed on a four-month good-behaviour bond, but the well-head had remained his possession. Last week, Ercildoune owners, John and Christine Dever settled the matter before the Supreme Court proceedings, for $20,000, and the ancient piece, believed to be about 20,000 years-old, was transported from Essendon to the Ercildoune garden. Mr Dever described the return as “just fantastic”. “It’s like a missing piece of the jigsaw is now in place,” he said. “It’s an absolute focal part of the property. When we took over I started getting a bit fired up that it had been removed because it’s one of the last remaing pieces,” he said.

Ercildoune Diary 2008
Drought still ongoing – hardly any rain for weeks. Windfarm going up all around us = very sad indeed. First sign of green grass was on April Fools Day.
May – Mothers’ Day Weekend – Weather Overcast, but approximately 2000 people attended.
25th May – The Governor of Victoria, David de Kretser, and his wife visited Ercildoune at 4.30 p.m. The weather was extremely showery and foggy to the extent that it was pointless showing them the grounds. We later attended the Civic Reception held at Avoca that evening.

SHIPPING HISTORY

In 1842, a new packet service between Sydney and Melbourne was contracted to Benjamin Boyd, to carry mail, aparently worth £200 for every trip. His vessel was called the Sea Horse and had originally come out to Hobart from London in April 1841. It did not succeed due to lack of patronage, but his contract began in 1842 and lasted only 10 months when the Sea Horse suffered damage after running aground near George Town in Tasmania. She made the run to Sydney in 73 hours after being refloated, but the damage to her hull and engines was severe. She ended up being sold as a “shark hulk” in 1849 and Benjamin Boyd shot through after all his other ventures aparently failed too.

THE SECOND OWNER, SIR SAMUEL WILSON.
The second owner, Sir Samuel Wilson, was also a highly successful and motivated person too, and at the height of his residency at Ercildoune, he employed an amazing 125 staff and 13 gardeners. His life had sometimes become intertwined with the Learmonth’s, through their mutual desire to succeed in a foreign country, seemingly at everything that they put their hand to, in their quest to keep improving the quality of our sheep and wool here in Australia. This was no mean feat in itself, because there was the tyranny of distance for a start, around 10,000 miles of it, but they succeeded on a grand scale, due to their raw determination as well as an innate knowledge of the market place and animal husbandry….

THOMAS SHAW – ADVICE

Thomas Shaw, Senior, Yorkshire born, and later on his son, advised the brothers on how to improve their breeding program. Thomas Shaw Senior started work as a wool sorter in boyhood, and later became a wool buyer and preparer of wools for various manufacturers. His attention was drawn early to wools from Australia, and he noticed ‘inexplicable’ changes and deterioration in their quality. His employers in London responded to a request from Robert Campbell & Co., Sydney for ‘a competent person as buyer and sorter and instructor of sorters’, he travelled to Australia observing climatic, soil and working conditions, noting the casual and unselective methods of sheep-breeding that were being used on many properties. Helped by Gideon Scott Lang he published a pamphlet, The Australian Merino, that urged Australian growers to consider precisely what English buyers wanted, to breed sheep fit for the purpose, and to prepare their wool better, particularly by washing it more carefully before shearing. He was described as a tough, aggressive little man, but was engaged by the Curries and Learmonth’s who ended up breeding high quality prize-winning merino sheep, as well as fine Hereford cattle (see newspaper article in The Australasian dated April 12, 1941) and superior draught horses. They even bred pigs at their Buninyong establishment, and also had an interest in assisting the Acclimatization Society of Ballarat, setting up fish breeding ponds and hatcheries at Ercildoune, in order to breed and distribute trout amongst the local waterways, and these were expanded upon by Sir Samuel Wilson who also bred and supplied salmon to many of our waterways. They imported various birds, including white swans, larks and thrushes, and attempted to purchase 12 Angora goats from the Ballarat Agricultural & Pastoral Society too.

As everything was done with horsepower back then, even installing the larger lintels used in the Homestead must have been quite a feat.

Some Irish Catholics were transpored to Australia merely for looking suspicious (page 35)

TIMELINE

It appears that they made the decision to leave their Buninyong property sometime after the discovery of gold there in 1851. The population had increased to 1,600 people during the goldrush years, and it became an important stopover with people travelling up from Geelong to the Ballarat gold diggings. Thomas Hiscock, the local blacksmith, had aparently found traces of gold in a gully whilst searching for a stray cow.

More Interesting Sheep Facts –
At the turn of the last century, Melbourne was the riches city in the world due to wool and gold.

Australia produced world that was double the average weight of the world – Goldsborough 3/3/1934.

The Learmonth brothers were the centre of the pastoral industry for 50 years. Their world renown merino wool could spin longer than any other wool in the world.

The ancient Scottish Clans fought for reputation, wealth, territory and survival and the Clan offered kinship, identity, food and livelihood.

The unicorn was first used on the Scottish royal coat of arms by William I in the 12th century but it was chained because a free unicorn was considered to be a very dangerous beast by the Scots. The thistle has been a royal symbol since James III and was featured on silver coins in 1470. The Most Noble Order of the Thistle is awarded for chilvary by The Queen.

Ercildoune has also been described in newspapers as ‘having a haunting grip on the past’

“an historic home fit for a Lord” (Herald-Sun 9/5/1998).

“simultaneously solid and eerily spectral.”

“one of the finest bits of birdland in the State” (3/1/1919) Apparently Victoria provides a wider variety of natural habitats than any area of similar size in Australia and has over half (516) of the total species of Australia (959).

Excerpt from The Age dated 31 May 1950
Woman Historian Writes of Old Homesteads.
Excerpt – Border Castle.
“A particularly fascinating example of homestead architecture Miss Kiddle has found in her Western District visits is “Ercildoune,” originally begun by the Livingstone Learmonths in 1838 and finished about 20 years later. Probably built with memories of their homeland uppermost, it is “like something from a Scottish fairy tale – a border castle,” Miss Kiddle reports. The Livingstone Learmonths sold “Ercildoune” in the seventies and left Australia, so none of their old diaries or letters have been preserved at the homestead. But “Murndal,” the Winter-Cooke’s property at Hamilton, where the same family has lived since 1838, has a priceless historic collection of old records. Station diaries and letter books, letters to and from England, Ireland and Australia, have all been preserved.”

The last paragraph stated that she hoped that records should be preserved for future generations and spoke with enthusiasm of the projected La Trobe library which is to be a storehouse of early Victorian history at the public library. In future, pioneer families who move to new homes where space for old papers is limited will, she hoped, would send them to the library, in order to prevent such losses as occurred to one family she knows of, who had preserved their records only to lose them in the fires of 1944.

Warrock Homestead – 33 buildings = time capsule, home of Kelpie

Special mention to Warwick Pitcher, Elaine Excavations, Flood repair works to future proof the property.

TIMELINE

HUMAN OCCUPATION OF VICTORIA STARTED 40-60,000 YEARS WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE ABORIGNES.

1220-1298 Thomas the Rhymer (Sir Thomas de Ercildoun) harks back to the 13th century and was one of the Livingstone-Learmonth family’s most famous ancestors.

1765 Elector of Saxony. The Scottish born Eliza Forlonge buys for sheep and sends them to Tasmania.

1770 Captain James Cook, son of a Scottish farmhand and an English Mum, discovers Australia’s east coast and claims it for England. A diet of watercress, sauerkraut and orange extract helped alleviated the dreaded scurvy.

1771 Sir Walter Scott, famous poet, playwright and historical novelist, was born in Edinburgh.

1787 May. The First Fleet sailed from Portsmouth, England and consisted of 11 ships. It took 252 days to reach Australia after 252 days at sea with 1044 passengers.

1788 January. About 70 native sheep suitable only for mutton survived the journey to Australia with the First Fleet. A penal colony is founded in Sydney by Captain Arthur Phillip. Convict transportation from Britain commences.

1792 Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, famous Australian explorer born.

1797 Governor King, Colonel Waterhouse, Captain Waterhouse and Kent purchased sheep in Cape Town from the widow of Colonel Gordon, commander of the Dutch garrison and when Waterhouse landed in Sydney, he sold his sheep to Captain John MacArthur, Samuel Marsden and Captain William Cox.

19th century – Britain became the world’s first industrial society and the first urban society and by 1851, more than half of the population lived in towns. In 1801 the population was 9 million, and in 1901 it had risen to 15 million. About 15 million left Britain between 1815 and 1914, many to escape poverty.

1800 ‘Napoleon’ sends Nicolas Baudin, French explorer, to lead a team of scientists in an attempt to claim the west part of “New Holland”. England responds in 1801 by sending Flinders to circumnavigate “New Holland”. Baudin encounters Flinders in ‘Encounter Bay’, South Australia.

1801 Matthew Flinders circumnavigates Australia anti-clockwise in a leaky ship and loses men before reaching Port Jackson again and on returning to Europe, is shipwrecked and has to row 600 miles back to Port Jackson.

1802 May. HMS Lady Nelson commanded by John Murray are the first Britons to sail into Port Phillip Bay.

1804 Captain Macarthur buys sheep from King George III’s flock, Hampton Court.

1807 Rev. Samuel Marsden takes a keg of wool to England and wears a suit made from it to visit King George III.

1807 Thomas Livingstone Learmonth re-marries a cousin of his first wife also named Christian Donald. His first marriage was in 1803 but his wife died 4 years later.

1809 First postal service organized, but mail is collected from informal distribution points. The first postmaster was an ex-convict who advertised in the newspaper what letters and parcels received.

1820’s Whaling and sealing activity is thriving along the coast. The Scottish Economic Recession.

Late 1820’s British people are trekking overland from New South Wales into Victoria.

1823 The first sheep show was held in Australia. A gold medaly was awarded to W. Riley for importing the most Saxons. He also imported Cashmere goats into Australia.

1824 Brisbane founded.

1826 England claims all of “New Holland” and calls it Australia at Matthew Flinder’s suggestion.

1829 Captain Charles Swanston (born in the Scottish border region) arrives in Hobart Town with his wife and young family. Two of his sons joined the Indian army retiring as Major Generals. A major thoroughfare in Melbourne that is the world’s busiest tram corridor is named after him. Perth is also founded in 1829.

1830 Australia’s population is 70,039.

1830’s Thomas Learmonth Senior arrives in Tasmania from Calcutta, India.

1834 The Henty family establish themselves in Portland Victoria.

1835-36 Thomas Mitchell explores the SW region of NSW and travels south into Victoria.

1835 May. Whilst John Batman was sailing over in the schooner Rebecca, Thomas Learmonth Senior is listed as a merchant in Hobart Town.

1835 June. Melbourne founded when Batman went up the Yarra River and noted in his journal “this is the place for a village”.

1835 18th June – Four of Thomas Learmonth Senior’s sons namely Dr. John, Thomas, Somerville, Andrew, and two of his daughters, Margaret and Christian Ann Learmonth, depart Leith Scotland.

1835 October – The Learmonth’s voyage from Leith sails into Hobart Town, Tasmania.

1836 Adelaide founded. South Australian Company begins wool growing and employs German women immigrants as shearers.

1837 John Deere invented a steel plough.

1837 January. Dr. John Learmonth marries Anna Macwhirter, second daughter of the late President of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh.

1837 April. Thomas and Somerville ship over 2,000 of their ewes from Tasmannia and land at Corio and drive the flock 20 miles to the head of the Barwon River.

1837 May. The Learmonth brothers now occupy Weatherboard and Native Creek.

1837 August. Expedition that included Thomas Learmonth from Geelong to Mount Buninyong where the Learmonth’s first property was established (originally 12,838 acres).

1837 September. Expedition to check out Lake Corangamite as Corio was becoming too crowded.

1838 January. Expedition that included Thomas and Somerville Learmonth where their future property called Ercildoune was established (73,312 acres). Starting at John Aitken’s property near Gisborne, they proceeded to Mt. Alexander (Castlemaine), across the Loddon River country to around Clunes, then south via Mt. Misery to the northern shore of Lake Burrumbeet, then back to Moorabool bia the Buninyong ranges.

1838 February. The brothers occupy Buninyong (No. 165) and Burrumbeet (No. 166) in the Leases of Crown Lands beyond the settled districts, Portland Bay District.

1838 April. Shepherd and hut-keeper Terence McManus, one of the Learmonth’s employees, is murdered 6 miles from the Home station in a place that is now known as Murdering Valley.

1838 August. The Learmonth’s take a trip to Van Diemen’s Land.

MAJOR THOMAS LIVINGSTONE MITCHELL, (1792-1855), AN EXPLORER BORN IN STIRLINGSHIRE SCOTLAND, 1839 STATED –

“I have at length discovered a country ready for the immediate reception of civilised man, and fit to become eventually one of the great nations of the earth. a land unencumbered with too much wood yet possessing enough for all purposes; with an exuberant soil under a temperate climate; banded eventually by the sea, coast and mighty rivers, and watered abundantly by streams from lofty mountains”.

1839 Terrible drought conditions for the next few years. In Spring the Learmonth’s engage Robert Hamilton as their overseer at Burrumbeet.

1839 Purchased the Maiden Hills property that later became known as Mount Mitchell Station.

1839 Charles and Alexander Wilson arrived in Sydney from Ireland with 1000 pounds which they invested at 10 percent interest. John Wilson, who ended up owning Trawalla, joined them in 1841 and Samuel Wilson, the second owner of Ercildoune, arrived in 1852, and was financed by Charles and John to purchase Longerenong (32,000 acres) near Horsham.

1840 The Learmonth’s build a flour mill at their Buninyong property. In 1841 it is noted as being a 2 storey building and using a 4 horse team.

1840 Sheep scab breaks out. They had considerable trouble stopping people moving their infected flocks through their land.

1841 One immigrant ship per week arrives in Port Phillip. The brothers get permission via the Colonial Secretary’s Office to bring in 10 married couples including a carpenter and hiw wife, under the Bounty Immigrants Scheme.

1841 February. They start building a cottage at Geelong.

1841 May. Foundation for the mill being built. First flower processed 5th May.

1841 September. The emigrants arrive to work for the Learmonth brothers. They now employed 35 men and 4 women. Inventory of stock: 13,000 sheep, 325 cattle, 16 horses on their 50,000 acres.

1841 Elizabeth Learmonth, the eldest daughter, marries Captain Arthur Cotton of the Madras Engineers at her father’s house in Green Ponds, Tasmania. He later becomes General Sir Arthur Cotton and lives to a ripe old age of 96.

1842 Advertisement for Bullocks for sale at the Learmonth’s Geelong and Boninyong properties.

1843 May. Thomas Learmonth Senior’s second wife Christian dies at Green Ponds, Tasmania, aged 56.

1843 September. James Robertson, son of their Burrumbeet overseer, is now engaged as overseer for the Run.

1843-45 Australia experiences its first major depression. Thomas and Somerville described these 3 years as reaching the depth of adversity in their 1851 travel diary.

1845-49 The Irish potato famine causes many people to immigrate.

1845 Thomas appointed a Magistrate at Buninyong.

1846 Potato Blight reached the Scottish Highlands. Landlords, charities and government agencies provided “assisted passages” for destitute tenants to emigrate to Canada and Australia and 16,000 took up the offer.

1845-48 Irish immigration to Australia accelerates after the Irish famine.

1847 Earl Gray signs paper abolishing the convict system in NSW. Squatters finally obtained rights to tenure of their Crown leases which gave them a degree of stability. In the Port Phillip District, the time of the splendid Western Plains homestead began.

1848 The brothers obtain their first purebred Merinos from (Sir) William Mitchell of Barfold Station, Kyneton.

1848 The first wool auction in Melbourne was conducted by Richard Goldsborough.

1848 According to Hugh Anderson in The Flowers of the Field – A History of Ripon Shire – Bishop Perry drove through the district and found the church ‘shut out through her own sloth and luke-warmness.’ He preached on his occasion in the wooldshed at Ercildoun. No matter what their persuasion, ministers of religion were welcomed to the brothers homestead.

1849 February. 45,000 acres of Ercildoune is now licensed in the names of John, Thomas and Somerville.

1849 Purchase of a Saxon ram.

By 1850, Australian settlement had evolved from a convict prison to an agricultural exporting colony, specializing chiefly in wool. Most squatters were considered to have little or no experience, or even interest in sheep husbandy and were in effect exploiting the colonoies’ pastures in order to make a fortune for a future life back “home” in Britain. Wages were 13/-d per 100 sheep for shearers, 12/-d to 15/-d for sheep washers, 1/9/- for wool sorters, 1/- for pressers per bale and 12/-d for bullock drivers and cooks. In Victoria, wheat prices were high, and labour scarce, and new portable, steampowered threshing machines were imported from the UK by a few of the more affluent farmers. These were hired out for others to use. Mowing and reaping machines had also been introduced, although more slowly. But as the wheat growing delined, the interest in complex and costly machines also declined, and the cheaper, horse-driven threshing machine was generally favoured for harvesting grain.

1850 Melbourne became the 3rd busiest port in the world due to the amount of wool being shipped to Britain as the Port Phillip District was about to become a colony in its own right. Although Australia’s wool exports had surpassed Germany’s by 4½ times, wool lost its No. 1 position to gold for 20 years.

1850 Andrew Learmonth returns to Australia having served with his Uncle John’s eldest son in India for 5 years.

1851 They purchase merino rams from Captain John Macarthur’s second stud flock at Camden, New South Wales. Macarthur is listed at no. 12 on the All-time Richest Australians List with 7.54 billion dollars (=1.047% of GDP).

1851 February. Black Thursday bushfires wipe out ¼ of Victoria. Advertise their Buninyong Homestead and freehold for sale but it doesn’t sell straight away.

1851 May. Thomas and Somerville sail for Britain after a 16 year absence.

1851 July. The colony of Victoria is founded. Andrew Learmonth writes to Governor Latrobe about buying Buninyong land.

1851 August. Gold is discovered in the area by Thomas Hiscock near what is now the Buninyong cemetery area. He was struck down by a cold and died in 1855, aged 43.

1851 September. Major Thomas Mitchell fought the last known Australian duel in Centennial Park, Sydney, over a property called ‘Tenterfield Station’, a crown grant that was given to Sir Stuart Donaldson. As Surveyor-General, Mitchell had gazetted a town to be built on part of Donaldson’s property, so the enraged Donaldson challenged him to a duel where 3 shots were fired, the last one blowing Donaldson’s hat off. He was not injured and wnet on to become the first Premier of New South Wales.

1851-54 During these 3 years, 270,000 gold-seekers flood into Victoria. Squatters lose shepherds but start erecting fences to contain their sheep.

1852 Andrew’s letter to The Colonial Secretary about the present homestation site being unsuitable and that the homestead was not yet started at Ercildoune.

1852 The second owner, Samuel Wilson, emigrates to Australia.

1853 Cobb and Co. Coaches start up their transport business using American made “passenger wagons” due to the increased number of people travelling to and from the goldfields, and their first run was to Bendigo.

1854 Homestead and stables are built at Ercildoune – black and white picture.

1854 May. The first Acclimatisation society was founded in Paris. The Acclimatisation Society of Victoria was established in 1861.

1854 December. The Eureka Stockade rebellion is regarded as a pivotal moment in the development of Australian democracy.

1855 The Learmonth brothers purchase 1160 acres of their Buninyong Lease. They sell it to the Buninyong Mining Company for 20,000 pounds in 1858, by which time the Scotchman’s Lead was well known within the property and 3.5 tons of gold had been extracted with the amount remaining estimated to be ‘something enormous’ while the quartz reefs had scarcely been touched. It was subdivided into 52 allotments and advertised for sale, but the auction did not attract any mining speculators and in 1887 the property reverted to pastoral and farming use.

1855 March. Ercildoune held up by two bushrangers who are captured but then escape. Shots fired.

1856 John Fowler invented a steam plough.

1856 December. Thomas marries Major General Valiant’s daughter Louisa.

1856 Seamail – Letters now arrive via steamships on a monthly basis from the United Kingdom.

1856 Samuel Wilson joins Wilson Brothers (Charles and Alexander) who already have pastoral interests in Victoria. The brothers had accrued 650,000 acres by 1859.

1857 Buninyong Gold Mining Company begin operations on 57 hectares of their Buninyong run. Gold was mined from 1858 onwards and subsequently several leads were found to converge on the Estate. Eight shafts were sunk and hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of gold were obtained. (An Illustrated History of Buninyong – page 11)

1857 A Saxon ram is purchased from Stanley Carr.

1857 Andrew Learmonth says that a bushfire is now at the Peak of Ercildoune.

1857 December. Inquest held at Ercildoun on the body of William Douglass who died whilst breaking in horses for Mr. Learmonth. He was about to mount the horse when it reared and having the bridle reins in his hand, pulled the horse back on himself, his head and face striking the ground and the withers of the horse coming right on his chest.

1858 February. Thomas and Louisa’s first daughter died aged 15 days and is buried in the Ercildoun Cemetery.

1858 March. The Learmonth’s purchased 20,973 acres and are leasing 26,000 acres.

1858 October. Theft of some Learmonth cattle at Black Hill near Lake Burrumbeet. Reward offered for information…

1859 January. Thomas and Louisa have a daughter, Louisa Harriet.

1859 October. Tenders required (labor only) for “additions and improvements upon Ercildoune House for Thomas Learmonth, Esq.”

1859 Even though rabbits were brought here by The First Fleet in 1788, Thomas Austin realeased 24 at his property called Barwon Park, Winchelsea, to remind him of England and for sport stating that “The introduction of a few rabbits could do no little harm….”. The initial two dozen bred like mad and in 1867 The Field reported a kill near Barwon Park of over 14,000 rabbits, all descendants of the first two dozen. Ironically Austin was awarded a medal by The Acclimatisation Society for his successful introduction of the rabbit to Australia.

1859 The first Ragged School was opened in Collingwood to cater for the growing number of destitute and neglected children, unable to afford an education. ‘If left uncared for, they would inevitably grow up to be pests and outcasts of society.’ By 1863, the Hornbrook Ragged School Association had established 10 schools in Melbourne, and other charities followed its lead. Volunteers and teachers were nearly all women.

1860 March. Thomas and Louisa Learmonth have a son Thomas (jnr).

1860 August. The ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition is undertaken.

1860 September. Somerville marries Maria Reid in Paddington, England. Her father Lestock Reid was with the Bombay Civil Service.

1861 April. Thomas and Louisa have their second son, Walter.

1861 June. The fire bugs are back, this time lighting up some haystacks this time.

1861 The brothers purchase two Mona Vale rams and 100 ewes.

1861 Gold Mining is carried out on a parcel of the Learmonth’s Buninyong land.

1861 November. Somerville and Maria’s first son born, Somerville Reid Livingstone Learmonth.

1862 February. More fat cattle stolen and another reward of fifty pounds offered for any information that would lead to the conviction of the offenders.

1862 June. Thomas and Louisa have their third son, Frederick Valiant Cotton.

1862 The Leader 15 July 1905 reported that “Longerenong mansion is, even for the present day an ambitious architectural effort, but when first built in 1862 it was one of the wonders of all the northern country beyond Stawell”. Sir Samuel Wilson had acquired the least in 1856. In 1875 it was purchased by Mr. W. H. Bulivant.

1863 The Learmonths purchase Egerton Gold Mine for 7,000 pounds – 10 years of ownership before the famous Court Case is brought against the purchasers and William Bailey, who arranged the sale, and was later accused of fraud and collusion.

1863 February. An English saddle and bridle stolen from Ercildoune.

1863 August. Thomas and Louisa have their third daughter, Bertha Christian.

1863 September. Somerville and Maria’s first daughter is born, Katherine Reid Livingstone Learmonth.

1864 February. Wood’s Point Quartz Mine – Andrew listed as shareholder.

1864 August. Fencing and roads – problems arising.

1864 October. For the first time in years, they don’t exhibit any animals in the Ballarat Show.

1865 February. Purchase of the properties Groongal and Bringagee (310,000 acres) in New South Wales. George Mair, Manager.

1865 March. Somerville and Maria’s second daughter born, Alice Julia Reid Livingstone Learmonth. Bullock drivers leave logs burning that causes terrible fire that kill 1,000 of the Ercildoune sheep.

1865 December. Thomas nominated for the next General Election.

1865 Prisons Act = ‘hard bed, board and labour.’

1866 T. Millier Edgerley of Willaura in Victoria invents the shearing table.

1866 June. Request for 12 angora goats from the Ballarat Ag. And Pastoral Society to the Acclimatisation Society so that they could be bred by Mr. Learmonth at Ercildoune. They acknowledged that Mr Learmonth was an eminent breeder, but the request was denied until herd numbers reached at least 200.

1866 October. The dog nuisance. Many accounts of dogs running wild and attacking sheep and lambs in the district.

1866 December. The Learmonth’s head to Queenscliff New Year’s Eve.

1867 February. A neighbor sets fire to stubble on his land that escapes and burns 1000 acres of Ercildoune Land.

1867 March. Thomas and Louisa have their fourth son, Basil Lockhart.

1867 July. Thomas Learmonth purchases Nyang 330 acres in the Murrumbidgee District, a pre-emptive purchase.

1867 August. Talk of the Duke of Edinburgh visiting Ballarat and possibly Ercildoune. Groongal or Bringagee station held up by bushrangers – possibly “Blue Cap” and “Jack the Devil”.

1867 November. Thomas addresses the Duke of Edinburgh at The National Show but the weather was unpropitious with insufferable heat and dust. The preparations made for his reception were of a most meagre character….including a rude platform covered with a sail cloth wholly devoid of decoration….

1867 A bale of wool sent by the Learmonth’s to London was judged to be “absolute perfection”…..brought about by approximately 30 years of selective breeding and washing of the wool in a sheepwash designed by Thomas.

1868 Convict transporation to Australia ends after 160,000 were sent to Australia most never to return to England after the terms of imprisonment was over.

1868 February. Somerville and Maria’s second son born, Commander Cecil James Reid Livingstone Learmonth. He ends up gaining the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy and Captain in the Manchester regiment. He fought in the Benin River Expedition, the Boer War and the first World War.

1868 March 2nd. James Higham, a compositor from Melbourne patents a shearing machine.

1868 The Ballarat Star 27 March gives details of the Indignation Meeting at Buninyong that was held beause of the murderous attack on Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh in Sydney by a one-time Ballarat resident of Irish extraction, who invested in quite a few properties on Soldier’s Hill until his luck changed. He aparently stayed at Ceres, a grand historic homestead in Learmonth where I was lucky enough to be invited for a cuppa. In gratitude Queen Victoria sent over a vine cutting from Hampton Court Palace, that still grows in the conservatory.

1868 May. Thomas is elected President of the Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society.

1868 September. A Court Case involving forgeiture of ground at Mt. Egeton. Thomas (M.L.C.) obtains 12 months leave of absence from his Parliamentary duties, rather than resign, as he was uncertain about how long he would be away for.

1868 October. Farewell Picnic given by Thomas and Louisa Learmonth for their employees and families on the occasion of their departure from the colony. Fourteen deer arrive at Ercildoune. Governor and Lady Sutton stay. Samuel Wilson buys out his brothers’ pastoral interests.

1869 The Victorian Parliament passes legislation for the protection of Aborigines.

1869 January. There was a long drought of 2 years followed by floods, then 5 years of bountiful rainfall.

1869 February. The brothers hear by mail that Thomas Senior has died aged 86. A tree is deliberately set on fire at Ercildoune.

1869 December. Andrew Learmonth marries Francis Cuninghame.

1870 March. Somerville and Maria Learmonth have their third daughter, Winifred Josephine Reid Livingstone Learmonth, born at Ercildoune. She ended up marrying Vice-Admiral Norman Palmer and is thereby listed under the Descendants of Mary Tudor, Princess of England.

1870 July 19th. Somerville Learmonth lays the foundation stone for the Burrumbeet Presbyterian Church.

1870 September. Floods. Trout ova being hatched in the Ercildoune fish breeding ponds are destroyed.

1870 December. The mining registrar recorded that apart from the Egerton Company, no one else was at work. The late 1860’s mining boom marks the time when mining was undertaken at considerable depth, but the late 1860’s mining revival proved to be short-lived.

1871 December. Andrew and Frances Learmonth have their first son, Lennox Christian Livingstone Learmonth, born at Ercildoune.

1872 August. Somerville and Maria Learmonth have their third son, Lestock Frederick Reid.

1873 Sale of Egerton Gold Mine sold to Martin Loughlin for 13,500 pounds. The ensuing Court Case costs 70,000 pounds. By 1910 the mine had extracted around 2 million pounds worth of gold.

The Wilson brothers continue buying up important rural properties.
1873 Samuel Wilson buys Ercildoune (26,823 acres) from the Learmonth brothers. John Wilson buys Trawalla and a year later purchases the adjoining station Lillerie so that Trawalla is increased to 40,000 acres in size. On his death Trawalla was passed to his son-in-law Captain Bridges, R.N.

1877 Wolseley and Savage are granted a patent for a shearing machine and a rope drive machine developed at Euroka Station near Walgett, New South Wales.

1878 February. Drought at Learmonth’s property ‘Groongal’ in New South Wales is the worst in 20 years.

1878 August. Somerville Livingstone Learmonth dies in London aged 59. He had become ill with “infected lungs” whilst preparing Ercildoune for settlement with Sir Samuel Wilson.

1879 Sir Samuel Wilson receives the Acclimatization Society Medal that had been awarded “but on few occasions.” His work with ostrich farming and breeding Angora goats was particularly celebrated by the Society.

1880’s Barbed wire was introduced into Australia.

1880-81 The first Boer War between the British Empire and two Boer states, the Boers of the Transvaal (as the South African Republic was known under British administration.)

1881 Sir Samuel Wilson leaves Australia to reside in England.

1885 Approximately 5,000 rabbits were killed at Ercildoune.

1886-87 A shearer’s union is formed in Ballarat by W. G. Spence that becomes the foundation of the Amalgamated Workers’ Union.

1888 Dunlop Station, at Louth in New South Wales, once covered 1 million acres, was sold by Sir Samuel Wilson to his nephew Sir Samuel MacCaughey, and is also famous for where the first mechanized shearing of its 184,000 sheep in the world took place using the new and initially controversial Wolesley machines in its 45-stand shed.

1890 The Health Department stated that there be no more interments at Ercildoune’s private cemetery. Six children and two workmen are also buried there, but their headstones have mysteriously disappeared.

1891 A six-month strike by shearers centred around Barcaldine in Queensland cripples that State, New South Wales and Victoria.

1893 Depression and banking crisis with thousands of people losing everything. Bank notes in many cases become worthless. Sir Samuel Wilson holds more land (95,872 acres) than any other individual person in the colony.

Late 19th century – Just 118 people owned half of Scotland with nearly 60 percent of the whole country being part of shooting estates with deer stalking and grouse shooting being very popular on private estates.

1899-1902 The second Boer War between the British Empire and the South African Republic and the Orange Free State.

1900 America buys Ercildoune merino wool.

1907 Dame Nellie Melba leases Ercildoune for 6 months and a concrete based tennis court is installed east of the front lake. The croquet lawn has been reported as being a lawn tennis court. At this stage the property was under the control of the Wilson family estate and the Homestead itself was leased out to various tenants.

1908 Herbert Wilson is a member of the British Polo team who wins a gold medal at the London Olympics. He and his brother Gordon were killed in World War 1. His Regiment received 23 Battle Honours and lost 99 men during the course of the war. Wilfred had died in 1901 in the 2nd Boer War whilst Clarence had barely survived his wounds.

1909 Thomas Phillips, Chaffcutter drowned in the Ercildoune Creek. A cyclone was reported at Avenel.

1911 (Ernest) Daryl Lindsay, famous Australian artist, worked as an overseer first at Ercildoune, then at Trawalla. He later became a frequent visitor to Ercildoune. He built Mulberry Hill at Langwarrin South that his life left to The National Trust in 1984.

1913 December. Two thousand five hundred infantry assemble at Burrumbeet and carry out manoevres.

1922 The Argus dated 11 January 1922 headed World’s Busiest Station. Flinders Street Daily Record 200,000 passengers; 1,500 trains. “…and is generally understood among railway-men to be the busiest in the world in respect to the number of trains handled, and one of the first three in the world as regards the number of passengers arriving and departing on an ordinary working day”.

1923 Australians were among the pioneers of refrigeration in the 1850’s but the first Australian domestic refrigerator took years to eventuate and was produced by Edward Hallstrom. These early models were powered by kerosene and in 1935 he produced the ‘Silent Night’ which ran on electricity or gas. He was the 8th son of a family of 9 children born to William Hallstrom, a saddler from England, who had moved to New South Wales because his farm had failed.

1926 A substantial cross marks the place where Baby Brann died, just a few kilometres south of the Homestead. It was said that he or she fell into a newly dug out ditch.

1933 March. Sir Alan Currie was a highly regarded figure in Ballarat and was invited by the Art Gallery to announce the inaugural Crouch Memorial Prize.

1934 March. The average weight of Australian sheep wool is double that of anywhere else in the world.

1934 October. The Duke of Gloucester spends a few days at Ercildoune during his royal tour of Australia.

1942 Sir Alan Currie died.

1943 March. Ercildoune (7610 acres) fails to meet the reserve at Auction. The bidders were ‘meat millionaire’ Sir William Angliss who offered £7 an acre, and Cecil McKay of Sunshine Harvester Co. fame who called £7 5s.

1943 June. The Ercildoune Camden merino stud flock, consisting of 313 ewes and 6 rams, was sold to William Buckland, Beckworth Court Estate, Clunes. The Currie’s racehorses were also offered at a dispersal sale a few weeks later.

1952 July. The Melbourne Argus became the first newspaper in the world to print in full colour.

1954 The Queen and Prince Phillip visit Ballarat and visit the famous begonia display.

1958 The Queen Mother visits Ballarat and also visits the famous begonia display.

1960 May. Auction of Ercildoune furniture (450 lots) with many items dating back to the original owners.

1962 Lady Muriel Currie died.

Ercildoune was once a jewel in the crown and those halcyon days become a distant memory.

1964 Members of the Briody family buy the property for the land and replaced or erected over 50 miles of fencing.

1965 The National Trust of Australia founded.

1969 The biggest wool clip on record is realized = 923,287,000kg. Australia’s sheep population exceeds a record 180 million.

1971 Excerpt – After getting the land working, they turn their attention to the house which they considered too historically important to be allowed to decline any further. Vandals had ravaged the house causing severe water damage to the interior. With their own time and money, the Briody’s are gradually turning the tide in their battle to return Ercildoun to its original splendor. (Weekly Times – 19 March 1980).

1995 Heritage Victoria is founded.

2007 A new wool suit was developed and sold in Japan, using Australian Merino Wool, that can be washed in the shower and dries off ready to wear within hours with no ironing required.

2009 Army Worm Caterpillar Plague in the Ballarat region.

John (1767-1834) and Elizabeth Macarthur (1766-1850), of New South Wales, are credited as being the first people to achieve success in the sheep-breeding world in Australia. They aparently crossed Bengal ewes from India with Irish wool rams. John Macarthur stated: “By crossing two breeds, I had the satisfaction to see the lambs of the Indian ewes bear a mingled fleece of hair and wool and this circumstance originated the idea of producing fine wool in New South Wales.” The Livingstone-Learmonth brothers produced world-class wool that won many coveted first prizes in the many agricultural shows of the time. They often led the way in regard to new developments and ideas in their 19th century merino sheep breeding years at their Ercildoun property as they experimented in the handling, drenching and washing of their flocks, when they used soda rather than soap, to produce wool that was softer to the touch. Their reputation for wool production was considered unsurpassed by many of their peers in the colony of Port Phillip, Victoria. The sheer size of their operation at Ercildoun attests to what must have been a golden era indeed, where they ultimately helped shape the Australian merino that we see today. They received many accolades in the prestigious London and Paris exhibitions that were open to entries from all around the world, and where one Judge stated about the Learmonth’s entry was – the finest bale of wool we ever saw.

Merino Wool Qualities
Distinguishing features are its superior breathability, temperature regulation, moisture control and adherent anti-microbial properties and unlike traditional wool, it is much finer, softer and great for people with allergies.

Amazingly successful pioneer families
The Russell family including nephews and first cousins including once removed, have been connected to some famous properties including Golf Hill, Terinallum, Mawallock, Stoneleigh, Barunah Plains, Langi Kal Kal. Some of them competed with the Learmonth’s at the agricultural sheep shows.

YOU NEED HUGE MONEY TO BUY SOME OF THESE PIONERING PROPERTIES
Trawalla near Beaufort (4,140 hectares) sold for around $20 million in 2011, the biggest sale since Mount Elephant Station, Derrinallum (3,310 hectares) sold to a Swedish Count for a similar sum a few years prior. Nearby Pircarra was bought for more than $10 million by the US-based Westchester Group. The Weekly Times reported that Banongill Station, Skipton (6,880 hectares) said to be in the $50 million range, was sold for an undisclosed sum to an American Superannuation Fund in 2016. Glenfine Station near Skipton also sold for close to $20 million in 2008.

Quite a Few Mysteries Remain Unanswered…..
The main mysteries so far have to do with who put the Star of David on the wall in the hallway, where was the cellar location, was there ever a chandelier hanging in the hallway, who was Baby Brann, what happened to the headstones that were on the graves in the private cemetery and what happened to the Shearing Shed that had been built of bluestone.

Another interesting email was sent by Glenn Braybrook who stated this his grandfather was a convict that overlanded with Henry Bowerman’s party from Sydney in 1837. He was assigned to the Learmonths in 1839 after Bowerman sold his stock to Thomas and Somerville Learmonth and he was put in charge of their outstation at Mammeloid hills, which was their largest outstation east of Mt. Mitchell. At that time, Alexander Lang was Learmonths overseer and he was stationed in the huts that were built in the front area of what was later known as Mount Mitchell homestead. Learmonths home was still at Buninyong in 1838 and they had an outstation and huts where Ercildoune now stands which were occupied by shepherds. He also visisted the Learmonth’s original homestead site at Buninyong and found where they had the Shearing Shed which was removed stone by stone to Ercildoune, so maybe that was to do with the story of ‘the other Shearing Shed” that was there at one stage. He also found the foundations of the original flour mill and he said that both of these building sites had been lost until he discovered where they were. We had heard that there had been a bluestone Shearing Shed on the property, but not sure what happened to it.

BOOKS –
The Classer and Gold Dust On The Wool by Robert Burnett.

Another coincidence –
Donald MacDonald, Journalist with The Argus Newspaper retired to Black Rock a few streets down from where we live now. He had a very successful column in The Argus called Nature Notes and Queries that became very popular with many stories regaling Tom Fisher’s experiences at Ercildoune. He was in charge of the fish hatcheries there that Sir Samuel Wilson had expanded after his purchase. In a story in The Argus called “His Hours of Ease” dated 8 December 1923, there is a picture of Donald MacDonald standing in front of some cottages that were on his property that were adorned with climbing roses that were taken from cuttings from the first rose brought from England to Ercildoune. He goes on to say that his grandfather took possession of Ercildoune for the Learmonth family, having been the first white man to look down from the Divide upon the meadows in that area. His father was one of the Scottish Candaians from Ontario who pioneered the famous coaching services of Cobb and Co. in the days before railways had reached the distant corners of the State.

The Clydesdale is a breed of draft horse from the very hard-working farm horses of that region in Scotland. At one time there were around 140,000 Clydesdales known in Scotland but by 1949 only 80 animals were licensed in England and by 1975 they have been listed as vulnerable. There are now approximately 5,000 globally and are now most numerous in the United States. The Shire horse holds the record fot the world’s biggest horse and ‘Sampson’ who was foaled in 1846, in England, stood at 21.2½ hands high and weighed over 1.5 tonnes. They were an important draft animal, along with British Longhorn Cattle, here in Australia, and is celebrated with the Merino, as iconic images of rural life here. The Learmonth brothers of course, greatly improved both our draft horses and Merino sheep.

Droughts
The years that Victoria experienced major droughts are 1956-66, 1914-15, 1919, 1922-23, *1938-39 when water restrictions were introduced in Melbourne, 1943-45, *1967-68, *1972-73, 1976-68, *1982-83, 1997-
2,000 – Millenium drought.

Highest Price Paid for a Sheep
$369,000 was paid for an 8 month-old Texel tup, Deveronvale Perfection in Lanark, Scotland 2009.

Gold Museum Exhibition: Ercildoune: The Story of a Pastoral Station.
This exhibition was inspired the recent acquisition of a number of account books and photographs, generously donated by former owner Jack Briody. These valuable materials were offered to the Gold Museum on the understanding that they woud be used to promote the history of the station. “Five key families have owned the property since its establishment: the Learmonths, the Curries, the Briodys and the Devers. Although these families are unrelated in any way, each has made their own significant contribution to the management and development of the estate….. and it was wonderful to see so many items that had once belonged to Ercildoune.

Both Sir Samuel Wilson (Irish) and Sir Alan Currie (Scottish) were sixth sons. Both Thomas Learmonth and Sir Samuel Wilson lost their firstborn daughters under the age of 12 months, and buried them at their places of residence, Ercildoune in Burrumbeet and Longerenong in Horsham.

William Bailey died in 1906 and left £10,000

Somerville Learmonth in 1878 and left £200,000

Sir Samuel Wilson died in 1895 and left £15,000,000

Convict Poem
The law locks up the man or woman
Who steals the goose from the common
But leaves the greater villain loose
Who steals the common from the goose

William Rubinstein, author of The All-time Australian 200 Rich List, states that ‘no other society on earth were petty criminals from the slums likely to comprise any segment of their country’s wealth structure. Had these successful conficts not been transported to Australia, it seems unlikely that any of them would have died even comparatively rich, and most would surely have remained in poverty. In Australia, he goes on to say, one might speculate that willingness to bend the rules to take risks, which were considered to be characteristic of the petty criminals and thieves of Britain, were advantageous to success in a continent where the rules had constantly to be invented and bent to survive, much less to succeed’.

‘Australia gave so many a genuine ‘second chance’…

James a Froude, Historian wrote about his visit to Ercildoune –
“It was a day to be remembered, and a scene to be remembered. Here was not England only, but old-fashioned baronial England, renewing itself spontaneously in a land of gold and diggers, a land which is my own recollection was a convict drain, which we have regarded since as a refuge for the waifs and strays of our superfluous population for whom we can find no use at home. These were the people whom our proud legislature thought scarcely to be worth the trouble of preservation as our fellow-subjects. It seemed to me as if at no distant time the condescension might be on the other side.”

Harry B. Austin in his book The Merino: Past, Present and Probable (1943) stated that the Learmonth’s had a better reputation in England than any other from the colonies.

AUSTRALIAN FANTASY by DUDLEY GLASS – A book that is described as a photographic essay capturing the essence of Australia. Page 118 – ERCILDOUNE – Founded in Victoria thirteen years before the gold-rush of the ‘fifties, a mansion has grown to maturity under the perpetual smile of fortune. It may be taken as tangible evidence of the colonizing genius of the conquering Scot, for it was built by a Learmonth, and its name recalls that ancestral pile on the Border… Ercildoune. While such station-homes as Boonoke and Wanganella are typically Australian, Ercildoune might belong to another country. For if the surrounding hills lack a carpet of bonnie purple heather, there are bluebells a-chime in the garden, protected from winds quite Celtic in their intensity by avenues of completely Scottish firs and pines. The mansion itself is creepered to the battlements and bows baronially to a little hamlet beyond the gates, where a granite church has the benediction of a vicar whose charge is the parish of Burrumbeet. A Royal ambassador has been an honoured guest at Ercildoune… inspecting the owner’s thoroughbred horses and sheep… galloping on a bloodhunter over the paddocks… enjoying a country dance in the crested ballroom where the Highland fling has an imposing home from home.

Maybe another example of the tall poppy syndrome…..
Andrew Learmonth told Stanley Leighton that he intended to return home (to Britain) because of ‘the hopeless exclusion of the upper classes from public life in Australia and the envy which they had to contend against’. He spoke bitterly of the effects of universal suffrage, and of the corruption of the members of Parliament. Meanwhile shearing was underway at Groongal and Andrew was experimenting with employing Chinese shearers since his white shearers had previously attempted to strike for better conditions. A.A. Co. pastoral operations were mainly at Warrah where George Fairbairn’s skilled management eased Livingstone-Learmonth’s burden. The extension of wire netting and formation of a Border Leicester stud confirmed Warrah’s prosperity. ‘Forced by the iniquitous principle of resumption which is so popular under our ultra democratic government’, so he advised a voluntary Tree subdivision and when the State government proclaimed the Warrah Settlement Purchase Area, he protested at a ‘distinct breach of faith’, only to be told of a change in policy and a new Bill. He was disappointed at a Court of Appeal’s award in 1911 for the 45,006 acres resumed. He protested strongly against the ‘crushing’ 1910 Federal land tax. To offset these losses, he recommended the purchase of Corona, a first-class sheep station west of Longreach, Queensland, belonging to his family’s Groongal Pastoral Co. This 1911 purchase presaged a pattern of purchase and lease throughout northern and Western Australia. (Further research states that Daniel Patterson acquired Corona in 1875 and took an interest in the Broken Hill mine, and later became a director and Chairman of BHP. Sir Sidney Kidman acquired Corona in 1917.) Andrew’s wife died suddenly in 1912 and after Labor’s decision to open a state-owned coalmine, he decided not to continue a workload, which, though congenial, had left him ‘utterly worn out and almost broken down’. He resigned on 31 March and like his father before him, moved his family back to Britain. (This article also tells of some of the frustrations that forced him to eventually return to the home country.)

Old Black and White Photos
Lady Currie’s Rose Garden