Rain and Cold

S
It's darn cold and wet outside at present.  In spite of this, quite a lot has been achieved over the last week or two.

We followed up the planting of the apples with another 27 bare-rooted fruit and nut trees - and one flowering cherry.  Right from the start at Moora I knew where I wanted to put the main orchard.  In 2006 I planted out a good part of it with a sheltering surround of ornamental pears, about 12 fruit trees and even a couple of nut trees.

Then the cattle got in.  The first time I caught them before too much damage had been done.  The second time I was away - and I came home to a right royal mess.  It was almost too much ... and I just left it.

Now, with the help of my nephews Sam and Finnbar, we've well and truly back on track.  We have 24 fruit trees planted in the main orchard - pears, plums, peaches, nectarines, cherries, apricots .. and a quince.

With the shelter trees - I managed to recover 10 from the 24 (expensive) trees planted in 2006 - and we filled the gaps with new (equally expensive) ones.  They are Pyrus Calleryana 'Chanticleer' and they should shelter the orchard, put on a modest show of blossom in the Spring and then some spectacular Autumn colour.

Below the orchard we have planted 6 walnuts.  All trees I plant are in honour of my grandfather Len Holdaway, but walnuts more than anything.  On the farms where I grew up there were walnut trees planted by Len and his brother Charles.  My grandfather lived long enough to see his walnut trees produce huge quantities of nuts - which his grandson had to pick up.  Uncle Charl didn't live to see his great grand-nephews earn pocket money by harvesting nuts from his trees throughout their teens, but I'm sure he got his share in earlier times.

Finally - I'm trying a couple of figs back up by the house.  We had a beautiful fig tree when we lived in Gardenvale in the 1980s.  My wife loves figs - so I'm trying them for her.

Our garlic is up and moving now.  I'm very pleased that Neil and I did the bed forming before planting.  This block of the vegetable garden is just downhill of a very wet spot.  While it's possible there is a spring I think it's more likely that there is some sort of natural underground drainage from the higher area up by the house.  In any case, the rain has left water lying in the trenches between the beds - but the beds themselves are wet but not soaked.  And they dry reasonably quickly.

On the weekend the boys and I got our potatoes in.  We have planted 12 metre rows of 7 different varieties: Pontiac, Kipfler, King Edward, Otway Red, Nicola, Desiree ..... and .... well 6 out of 7 isn't bad.  They are in a block of the garden that is not as wet - thank heavens.  At the moment we've just planted them about 4 inches deep.  We'll mound up later as the shoots appear and need frost protection.

Tonight I spoke briefly to my Uncle Barry.  He was telling me about the bullock team he has in training.  He has a couple of what I imagine must be steers - one a Simmental and the other some sort of Friesian cross.  I wasn't aware of my great grandfather and his sons having used bullocks as opposed to draught horses, but there are many, many things I don't know.  Later this month we'll be back in Blenheim for a few days - and I can't wait to see the team.

Kristina has also found a newspaper article referring to a previous owner of Moora Farm - one Willie Benson, who lived in our house for over 40 years.  The article was on standard bred horses - and Willie was a registered trainer / driver.  It also mentioned him as having Clydesdales and standing various stallions.  We certainly find plenty of horseshoes and other ironmongery whenever we move any soil around the farm yard.  I also think I've found an old stables location - which I deduce from what looks like a stable floor of rock from the paddocks.  It's an area of similar sized rocks laid out roughly flat.  It can't be natural - so why would it be there?  I think it has to be a stable or perhaps some other type of farm shed.

Something special

While we were home I was browsing a bookstore in Sunbury and realised that Pip Butler has published her history of South Gisborne.

We met Pip some time ago and had seen drafts of chapters for this book.  We already knew it going to be better than the average social history book of an area.  It helps to be a journalist and professional editor.

Really though - it's the content that matters most - and Pip has done a wonderful job collecting information about our area.  The tags you can see in the photo are all the places where our farm is mentioned - and I've probably still missed some.

A summary of the history of our farm and house, drawn mainly from Pip's book, is as follows:

	Before 1836 Occupied for at least 40,000 years by Aboriginal people – of whom few clues now remain.
	1836   John Aitken occupies the Mt Aitken area – presumably including Moora. – running Merino sheep.
	1850   Aitken loses 20,000 acres (of 24,000) to WJT Clarke’s Special Survey.
	June 1857 Land sales in Melbourne.  Lot 15 (incorporating the present Moora sold to ‘wealthy Melbourne investor’ George Urquhart (p36).  Lot 15 is 134 acres on the South Western corner of the intersection of Couangalt Rd and Tweddle Rd.  The property was rectangular and went about 600 metres along Couangalt Rd and about 900 metres down Tweddle Rd.
	6 years until 1864/5 John and Robert Brodie lived in an ‘inferior homestead’ on their rented farm – thought to be Moora (p52).  In 1865 a shire inspection report said it was ‘impoverished by ploughing’ – one of at least a dozen farms said to be showing signs of soil exhaustion through continual cultivation. The building they used may have existed through to the 1970s when a ‘rough hut’ stood a short distance from the main house.
	Shortly after 1863 Francis (Frank) and Caroline Crow sold Green Valley, the farm to the immediate south of Moora, to Frank’s sister and brother in law (George & Jane Woodworth) and acquired ‘a fertile 134 acres on Green Valley’s northern side’ – ‘today’s Moora’.  ‘Here he ran a small dairy herd of 20 cows as well as growing hay’ (p340-1).  Growing hay and oats was to be the major use of agricultural land in the district until cars and tractors replaced horses in the 1920s, 30s, 40s - and maybe even through until the early 1950s.  We have found a lot of ironmongery when doing work around the yard - including quite a few horse shoes.
	1867   The Moora house was in existence by this date (p46).  An 1867 coin was found above a door lintel when Stephen Swan did the renovations.  The placing of coins above doorways was said to be an Irish good luck custom (p46).  It seems the house must have been built by Frank and Caroline Crow.
	1887 – 1894 First William and Frederick Greenwood buy Green Valley with help from their father Abel.  Another brother Abel Jr moved to the property and bought Pine View – as Moora was then known (p105).  He leased it to Willie Benson from about 1895 (p105).
	Early 1900s Abel Greenwood wanted to sell Pine View to Willie Benson, but couldn’t because his brother William’s name was also on the title and couldn’t be found (p105).
	1912 The Greenwoods go to the Supreme Court to have William’s name taken off the title – and then sell Pine View to Willie Benson.  He was to remain there until his retirement in 1940.
	1928 Willie Benson married Gwen Ashe – who had grown up nearby (p149).  Gwen moved to Pine View and became very active in the area – Red Cross, CWA and the Anglican church.
	1940 Willie Benson sells Pine View to Hugh and Kathleen Robertson.  They rename the property Garrah (p210).
	1941 Flax was being grown on Garrah (p210).  There was a war purpose to the flax growing - presumably the same purpose that led to a flax mill at Marshlands near our old home town in New Zealand.
	14 Jan1944 Fires burns through Garrah, but it suffers comparatively little damage.
	1970s Farms in South Gisborne, including Pine View / Garrah were subdivided.  Garrah was divided into (initially) 5 properties.  About 1975 Stephen Swan bought the northern part of the property (about 600m x 420m – 63 acres) and names it Moora.  Sometime later he subdivides 2 blocks in the north western corner - bringing it back to its present 57 acres. By that time the house was derelict.  Stephen renovates the house through the 1980s and 1990s.
	Mar 2005 Graham and Kristina Holdaway acquire Moora.