This is the research blog of Janine Rizzetti, history postgraduate student at La Trobe University. I am writing my thesis on Justice John Walpole Willis, the first Resident Judge of Port Phillip, but in my own little way I am “resident” in Port Phillip myself, and my Myers-Briggs score tells me that I love to judge! This blog includes my observations about Port Phillip in the early 1840s when Willis was resident and my observations about Port Phillip (i.e. Melbourne) and 21st century life today.
If you’d like to email me, my address is ResidentJudge@gmail.com
Great looking blog – I especially like the picture up top.
I believe the North Melbourne lake was around where the North Melbourne rail station and train lines now are, stretching up to Arden Street, where the football oval and pool are.
There are quotes from white settlers around the 1850s, in Mr Hannan’s book, which attest to its beauty. It was pumped full of human waste and was eventually deemed unsanitary by the North Melbourne (then Hotham) council, and hence drained.
There were huge sanitary problems (and deaths) in the area due to human waste (feces).
My Myers-Briggs assessed me as a researcher!
I could have told them that beforehand.
Bearbrass!
Like the site.
A pity I didn’t find it long ago as I have been researching Willis, The Twelve Apostles and 416 others who lived in Melbourne during Willis’ reign for many (too many) years and may have been able to assist.
Hi Tony, pleased to meet you. Why 416? What angle have you been taking with your research?
I have that many pieces of original correspondence personally signed by Port Phillip residents who lived here at the time.
I have spent the last ……… (too many) years researching them and attempting to establish where they fitted in to the PP fabric of the time.
Ten of the 12 Apostles, Three Resident Judges (including Willis), Solicitors, Doctors, Merchants, Squatters, Bakers, Innkeepers, Poundkeepers, Brick Makers, Street Sweepers and just plain settlers – you name it I have them.
I am in the process of putting together a biographical tome of about 850 pages that I hope to publish within the next 12 months.
Excluding the obvious standouts, very little, if anything, has ever been written about the vast majority of my subjects.
What an undertaking! That was one of the things that I wondered about with the Twelve Apostles- what was the web of connection that brought them to all be involved in this? Are there any collections of correspondence specifically about Judge Willis that you could point me to? My email address is at the top of the page if you’d prefer. I started doing a similar thing with the petitions signed for or against him, but found myself uncertain about duplicated and misspelled names. I hope you get it published- I’m sure that many people doing family history research would be interested in it.
The email address it shows is
no-reply@wordpress.com
which does not accept mail.
RE WILLIS
The Royal Historical Society of Victoria have an extensive collection on Willis (‘The Willis Papers’) – I’m sure you already know this. Paul Mullaly used them extensively in his work.
My personal collection also includes some documents written by Willis but nothing that really gives much insight into ‘what made him tick’.
TWELVE APOSTLES
I have an interesting seven page handwritten affidavit made by James Purves in January 1843 which outlines the establishment of the 12 Apostles and their indemnifying Rucker.
It mentions all 12 but doesn’t really give much insight into how the 12 came together – to me it appears that they were drawn by a common interest – self protection (effectively offering indemnity to one another to aid business expansion and making money). How they socially met is another question.
ALEXANDER MACKILLOP
As a point of interest I also have a piece of correspondence from him which he signs MacKillop.
In the correspondence I have from him he describes himself as a ‘Yeoman’ (owner of free title to land) so he clearly was a man of some means prior to the depression. He arrived on 12 November 1838 so he didn’t have a great deal of time to accumulate wealth – I would assume he was not wealthy when he arrived.
Tony
What an undertaking! That was one of the things that I wondered about with the Twelve Apostles- what was the web of connection that brought them to all be involved in this? Are there any collections of correspondence specifically about Judge Willis that you could point me to? My email address is at the top of the page if you’d prefer. I started doing a similar thing with the petitions signed for or against him, but found myself uncertain about duplicated and misspelled names. I hope you get it published- I’m sure that many people doing family history research would be interested in it.
+1
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Janine
Who were the resident gossips in Port Phillip in the 1840s and 50s who left records of their gossip?
Is the McKillop related to the George McKillop and Smith who held Strath Downie (later Glenormiston from early 1840 when Niel Black bought the rights to the run and some of the sheep) McKillop arrived in VDL in 1835 and came to PP in 1836. I have just started at Unimelb on the Black papers and there is stuff hidden in the odd comment on which I would like to expand. Trove is good for some things, but I was wondering if in your travels you had come upon any/one /thing particularly useful as a source outside the usual suspects like Garryowen etc. Or are these sources all in the etc.?
No- Alexander arrived in Sydney in January 1838, then came to Port Phillip after that. There seem to be many MacKillops (and many variations of the spellings!) but no, he was not involved with Niel Black.
Garryowen is the main gossip (and what a gossip he was!), although in the newspapers there are other gossipy little features like “Bob Short” which appeared regularly in the Port Phillip Patriot. It’s a strange little paragraph of a string of observations and allusions that don’t make much sense now. e.g.
Alack and well-a-day! Criminal Court- awful- learned Judge, robed &c &c- barristers- pretty horse-haired heads- full of- what? query- full of law, logic or lackadaisy- Judge Willis- suits Melbourne- straightforward, upright, plain, vigorous, painstaking, anxious to see awarded real justice- too hard on the C.P.- quite so”
The Bunbury letters are online at SLV, and while not gossip as such, they are very newsy and good value.
what an exciting blog to discover
I too am very interested in this – particularly so the cultural shift for gentlewomen arriving in Port Phillip 
we should start a messageboard and a coffee meetup for Port Phillip enthusiasts 
I look forward to reading more of your book reviews!