The Very Early Years of Frankston
Frankston City Council presents a very good historical record of Frankston from 1901 to present day. This community website hopes to provide information about the very foundations of the City. The first land subdivision in Frankston Town occurrd in 1854. Prior to that, as is shown on the "draft" subdivision, The Cananuke Inn is clearly depicted on what is now known as Lot 1R Plowman Place. This now compromises a vacant car park immediately at the rear of the Mechanics Institute Building.
This is the site of the Cananuke Inn, The first building in Frankston.
The Licenced entitlement was much larger, compromising garden, grazing area and outbuildings. N.B. St Mary;s Church allotment depicted.
Documentation :
The first being a map of William Hovell's journey to Western Port in 1827
An extract from William Hovell's diary of the expeditiion follows
An official Lands Department features survey from 1853 details the then existing Cananuke Inn and it's tutelage. The site extends beyond the boundaries of the allotment containing the building.
William Hovell's FifthJourney of Exploration
at Western Port - 1827.
In 1826, owing to the presence at Western Port of the French vessel Astrolabe, the Government in Sydney were suspicious that the French may attempt to colonize the area. Also, the Government had recently accepted the report of explorers Hume and Hovell, that they had reached Western Port in 1824, and found it suitable for settlement.
The Government therefore decided to establish a settlement at Western Port near present Corinella. The party which sailed from Sydney to Western Port was commanded by Captain Samuel Wright. The second in command was Lieutenant Burchell. There were eighteen soldiers, twenty-one convicts, and a number of civilians, including explorer William Hovell.
William Hovell carried out many journeys of exploration from the settlement, including one journey in December 1826 when he discovered coal along the coast in the vicinity of present Cape Patterson.
On his third journey, which began on January 13th. 1827, William Hovell, two armed soldiers and three convicts, William Woods, William Hughes and John Sennett, set out in a whaleboat which belonged to sealers who had set up a camp and garden on Phillip Island near present Ventnor. In return for two pounds of tobacco and seven days rations, the sealers agreed to land the party near the Red Bluff, and then wait for them further to the north at the Snapper River, now Sawtell Inlet, Tooradin. The sealers landed the party at present Stockyard Point, about eight miles north of the settlement, where they headed inland to the north for about fifteen miles, until the scrub became impenetrable. They then headed west towards Snapper River, and camped for the night on the west side of *Burchell's River, now Yallock Creek near Koo Wee Rup.
On the 14th. February they reached *Wetherall's Three Rivers, now The Inlets, where they headed north for about five miles in an attempt to skirt the rivers and swamps, but were unable to do so. They then decided to cross the rivers nearer to the sea and eventually camped for the night on the east side of the present Lyall's Inlet.
On the 15th. February they finally crossed Wetherall's Three Rivers, and camped about six miles east of present Tooradin. During the torturous crossing of these rivers and swamps they were sometimes immersed up to their necks in water, but mostly up to their waists. They were constantly plagued by leeches in the daytime and swarms of mosquitoes and sand flies at night. They slept on the ground rolled up tightly in two blankets, which kept them reasonably dry.
They arrived at Snapper River on the 16th. February, where they met with the sealers and received their remaining rations and equipment. Hovel instructed the sealers to meet them at Sandy Point on the 24th. February, after observing a smoke signal on the mainland opposite to their garden on Phillip Island. They camped for the night about two miles west of present Tooradin.
On 17th. February they headed north west towards Port Phillip. They crossed *Dumaresq's Plains and camped for the night near present Carrum Downs.
On 18th. February they continued on towards Port Phillip, crossing Hovell's Plains and Hovell's Marsh, now Carrum Swamp, the water of which, Hovell described as being excellent. They arrived at Port Phillip near present Chelsea, where they camped for the night on the beach.
On 19th. February they headed north, following the coast to Red Bluff at present Black Rock, where Hovell was satisfied ‘as to the precise spot which terminated the journey of Mr. Hume and myself', which confirmed that it was indeed Port Phillip that Hume and Hovell had reached in 1824 and not Western Port as they had then assumed. They camped at Red Bluff for the night.
On 20th. February they headed north east in search of water until they reached present Scotchman's Creek near Oakleigh, and then headed south and camped for the night on the south side of Mordialloc Creek at present Mordialloc.
On 21st. February they headed south along the coast and reached present Frankston, where they met up with a large tribe of aboriginies, said by Hovell to number more than one hundred men women and children. Not all were strangers, as Hovell recognized a young man who had previously been given a tomahawk, and an old man who had taken a hatchet. Hovell was impressed with the regular features of the women, describing them as the best he had seen in the Colony. Most of the women, who wore kangaroo skins were described as being young and healthy, and each had a child. Hovell presented a fish hook to most of the men and boys, and was invited to a corroboree that evening. He declined and later the party headed south east and camped for the night near present Baxter.
On 22nd. February they continued in a south easterly direction reaching the western shore of Western Port near present Tyabb. They then headed south to present Oliver's Creek at Hastings. They camped on the south side of Oliver's Creek on the night of the 22nd.
On the 23rd. February they headed south and reached the coast at present Somers in the immediate vicinity of ‘Coolart'. From here they sent a smoke signal, as previously arranged, to the sealers, whose garden was opposite, on Phillip Island, near present Ventnor. They then proceeded along the beach to Sandy Point, where they were to meet the sealers, and were finally returned to the settlement in the sealers whaleboat on the following day, 24th. February. 1827.
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‘Wetherall's Three Rivers' were named after Captain F Wetherall Commander of H.M.S. Fly which arrived at the settlement in November 1826.
*‘Burchell's River' was named after Lieutenant Burchell who later became Commandant of the settlement.
*‘Dumaresq's Plains' were named after Colonel Dumaresq.
* * *
Captain William Hilton Hovell was born at Yarmouth England on the 26th. April 1786. He arrived in Australia on the 9th. October 1813, on the Earl Spencer. He was married with two children. He died at Goulburn New South Wales on the 9th. November 1875 in his 90th. Year.
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Sources.
Map - Western Port New South Wales March 1827. Original held at New South Wales Archive Authority. Attributed to Captain Wetherall, but clearly drawn by William Hovell.
William Hovell's Journal. Original held at the Mitchell Library Sydney. Safe 1/32C.
Historical Records of Australia. Series 3. Vol. 5. pp. 845 - 860. W H Hovell to Governor Darling. 27th. March 1827.
Corinella. A Forgotten Episode in Victorian History. By P J F Coutts. Records of the Victorian Archeological Survey. Number 15. January 1983.
© Andrew Webster 1998.
Frankston's first building, "The Cananuke Inn."
The site 1R Plowman Place has been entered on the Victorian Heritage inventory as a site of archeological significance. This does not stop development but ensures that an archeological "dig" must occur prior to construction commencing.
