EGANSTOWN CEMETERY
VICTORIA AUSTRALIA
PICTURE OF BEAUTY AND VEIN OF WORLD HISTORY
Irish rebels, US Civil War Veteran Denis Sullivan, a Cleary who
fought for the Pope against Garibaldi, the Swiss Italian publicans
Andrea and Margherita La Franchi and the benefactor John Egan of
Borrisoleigh: they are all here.
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| Egan's Celtic cross and one of Victoria's truly alluring
cemeteries. |
The Eganstown cemetery is tucked away on the Midland Highway, between
Daylesford and Creswick, only a mile or so from Blampied. When they
buried John and Johanna Cleary's 23-month-old daughter, Mary, on
12 March 1875, it was known as Blanket Flat. That month, no less
than four children under two years of age were interred in the cemetery.
Johanna's brother-in-law, Dinny Cleary, is there also. Dinny fought
against Garibaldi on the side of the Pope. Bad career move! Did
my great grandfather go with him? I wish I knew.
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Dinny Cleary's imperious family gave.
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| A Celtic cross for the Swiss Italian La Franchi family. |
The La Franchis ran the Swiss Mountain Hotel, located just past
the church. It was here, in 1898 the boys of Mount Prospect celebrated
their premieship and received the twenty, silver 'La Franchi Medals'.
Was this the first football team sponsored by an Italian immigrant?
Many of the boys of the Mount Prospect Football team pictured
below are buried in the cemetery.
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Mick 'punga' Cleary - two along from the bearded bloke with
the medical bag - left Blampied for Brunswick in 1920.
I'd fancy that this photo would be circa 1898. It could
be the premiership photo but I just don't know.
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Some years ago I was shown one of the medals. I was told that
it had belonged to 'Punga' Cleary's brother, Jack Cleary -see
history menu - whose parents' grave is shown below. Jack was my
grandfather. I can't spot anyone resembling him in the photo above.
If you happen to have one of the 20 silver medals, or know anything
about them, please sent me an email at philcleary@bigpond.com
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The Cleary grave at Eganstown.
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Richard Ignatius O'Neill, who died at Passchendaele Belgium
with the AIF, is also buried at Eganstown.
Passchendaele: As told in: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWpasschendaele.htm
The third major battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele,
took place between July and November, 1917. ........After a 10 day
preliminary bombardment, with 3,000 guns firing 4.25 million shells,
the British offensive started at Ypres a 3.50 am on 31 July.
The German Fourth Army held off the main British advance and restricted
the British to small gains on the left of the line. Allied attacks
on the German front-line continued despite very heavy rain that
turned the Ypres lowlands into a swamp. The situation was made worse
by the fact that the British heavy bombardment had destroyed the
drainage system in the area.
This heavy mud created terrible problems for the infantry and the
use of tanks became impossible. Eventually Sir Douglas Haig called
off the attacks and did not resume the offensive until late September.
....
As well as the heavy mud, the advancing British soldiers had to
endure
mustard gas attacks. ..... The offensive cost the British Expeditionary
Force about 310,000 casualties. Sir Douglas Haig was severely criticised
for continuing with the attacks long after the operation had lost
any real strategic value.
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| Dinny Sullivan - American Civil War veteran - Co C 11th
Massachusetts Inf Rgt. |
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The Caligaris of Eganstown
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AND THE ROUSCH FAMILY FROM LUXEMBOURG
THEY KNEW JOHN F KENNEDY
Dear Phil
Thank you for your e-mail .. The Rousch members of the football
team in your photograph are probably my grandfather's brothers
or cousins. I will check this when I unearth my great-grandfather's
death certificate, which is in our "archives".
Great grandfather, Nicholas Rousch, came out from Luxembourg
around 1840. He married Bridget Darcy, the aunt of Les Darcy the
boxer. Bridget came from Tipperary. My grandfather, Peter Rousch,
was one of several children. He married Mary Dwyer, a cousin of
the Kennedy clan one of whose offspring became president of the
USA. The original Kennedys came from Ireland, with one of the
boys emigrating to USA and the other to Australia. Grandma's brother,
Jack Dwyer, was invited to the presidential inauguration in 1963
but age prevented him from attending. I remember old Aunt Mary
Kennedy who lived in Albion Street, Brunswick. My grandparents
lived in Donald Street, Brunswick next to the Kelly family who
also came from the Mt Prospect/Blampied district.
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My memories of the Cleary family are somewhat blurred but I did
know a Molly Cleary and, I think, a Jack and Jim. The Cleary,
Rousch, Kelly and Egan families seemed to be integrated through
marriage and/or history and, as a child, I recall several outings.
My earliest childhood memory of such was as a four or five year
old being taken to the zoo by the families. Grandfather, never
one to knock back a drink, made the group stop at the Moreland
pub prior to us taking the cable tram to the zoo. I well remember
the publican saying that the king had died and grandfather, a
staunch republican and probable Sinn Feiner, called back "bugger
the king"! I must have felt the same way, too, because I
vividly recall that in honour of the king "Queenie"
the elephant wasn't giving rides that day.
As I am now approaching my seventy-fifth birthday it must have
been 1936.? I was born in Moreland Road at Vaucluse Hospital in
1931. I grew up in Thornbury where I was educated at St Mary's,
Thornbury and later at "Parade College" East Melbourne.
Ted Egan's family came from the same area as my grandparents
hence Eganstown. We are related in some way but I never did try
to work it out. His relatives frequented my grandparents' home
in Donald Street. You should read his book "The Paper Boy's
War" in which he describes his childhood and selling papers
in the Brunswick/Coburg area during WW2.
Kind regards
Peter Rousch
Emeritus Professor
AM President
Friedreich Ataxia Research Association (Australasia)
June 2006
