A History of Churchill Island: Settlement, Land Use and the Making of a Heritage Site
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A History of Churchill Island: Settlement, Land Use and the Making of a Heritage Site E. Rebecca Sanders Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2015 School of Historical and Philosophical Studies University of Melbourne Produced on archival quality paper II Abstract This thesis utilises a public history approach to respond to the desires of the project’s public stakeholders to obtain a rigorous and detailed history of Churchill Island, and to examine its nature as a heritage site. It examines how Churchill Island has been variously imagined and used to make a permanent settler colonial space. In doing so it argues that the history of the island offers a rich example of the complexity of settlement in Victoria. An exploration of the intersections between the practices of community engagement, academia and history, the thesis responds to the challenges thrown up by the History Wars and the Churchill Island Project by making a history of settlement that is both academically critical and publicly accepted. III Declaration This is to certify that I. The thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD, II. Due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other materials used, and III. The thesis is less than a 100,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices. Signature: Date: IV Preface This thesis is the major outcome of the Churchill Island Project. It was jointly sponsored by research partners, The University of Melbourne and Phillip Island Nature Parks.While the thesis comprises only my original work, it is important to state that some of its findings have been co-produced to meet the needs of the Churchill Island Project. V Acknowledgements A PhD thesis is made by many people, and this has been particularly true of the Churchill Island Project. First, I would like to thank the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne (formerly the Department of History) and Phillip Island Nature Parks not only for their sponsorship through the joint provision of a Melbourne Research Scholarship, but also their continued support of this project. Thank you also to Phillip Island Nature Parks for providing accommodation during my research at Churchill and Phillip Islands and to The School of Historical and Philosophical Studies for the award of a Research and Graduate Studies Scheme. This was an unusual project for both partners, and I sincerely thank you for the opportunity. At Phillip Island Nature Parks I would particularly like to thank Curator Christine Grayden, Farm Manager Trevor Heywood, former Gardener Megan McCarthy, former Farm Manager Gordon Brown, Churchill Island former Sales and Service and current Volunteer Co-ordinator Patricia Jeffery, Churchill Island Sales and Service Naoko Hosokawa-McRae, Education Ranger Graeme Burgan, former Project Manager Sally O’Neil, Board Member Stella Axarlis, former Executive Assistant Paula Forbes, Executive Assistant Damien Prendergast, CEO Matthew Jackson and former CEO Mark Manteit. Thanks are due Lovell Chen consultants Anita Brady and Libby Blamey as well, who shared research with me and expressed an interest in my work as they put together Churchill Island’s Conservation Management Plan. To Andrew May, my primary supervisor for the project, I owe you a debt I can never repay. Thank you for your continued support, your comments and insights. You have supported this project above and beyond the call of duty, and this has enabled me to not only submit my thesis, but to achieve enormous personal growth and obtain suite of skills that will be useful for the rest of my professional life. Thank you. Thank you also to my secondary supervisors Keir Reeves and Penelope Edmonds. Keir, thank you for your ongoing interest in my project long after you had moved on to greener pastures, and to Penny, my profound thanks for assisting me in giving this thesis the intellectual depth it required. Catherine Colbourne is also deserving of thanks for suggesting my thesis should aim to make its contribution to the field of public history. Your words were wise. To the Friends of Churchill Island Society, who have cheered me on to the finish line, and are no doubt looking forward to the end product, thank you for inviting me to be part of your community. I would especially like to thank Jill and Fred Allen, Roger Hollingsworth, Stella Axarlis, Christine Grayden, Patricia Cleeland, David Maunders, Ann and Peter Jelly, Patricia Baird, Ruth and Tom O’Dea, Mary Mitchell, Irene McKell and Jeff Cole for stimulating discussions, thoughtful comments and your warm hospitality. VI Numerous people with a personal connection to Churchill Island chose to be involved in this project through its collection of oral interviews, and I thank you for the opportunity to record your memories. I would especially like to thank Carroll and Amy Schulz for access to their most comprehensive personal archive. To Laurie Thompson, thank you for your information on the Pickersgill family and for maintaining lines of communication on the vexed issue of Churchill Island’s settlers. This thesis is the better for your involvement. Thank you also to the National Library of Australia for the provision of a six week Summer Scholarship, and the staff of the Maps, Manuscripts, Digital Collections for assistance with research and to Gianoula Burns and the staff of the Dance Collection for taking care of me. I am also grateful to Janette Hodgson, Public Lands, Department of Sustainability and Environment; the staff of the Library of the Department of Primary Industries; the State Library of Victoria, Manuscripts, Latrobe and Digital Collections; staff of the Public Records Office of Victoria; Special Collections, The University of Melbourne and the Phillip Island and District Historical Society Museum volunteers. To my peers at what became the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, fellow National Library Scholars and friends also undertaking postgraduate study, thank you for helpful discussions, friendship and Snifters. In no particular order, Michael Pickering, Mark Pendleton, Fiona Davis, Prue Mann, Julie Davies, Emily Fitzgerald, Erica Millar, Jordy Silverstein, Vannessa Hearman, Peter Russell, Damien Williams, Roland Burke, Angeline Brassier, Leanne Howard, Noah Riseman, Claire McLisky, Timothy Jones, Caitlin Murray, Crystal McKinnon, Liam Connell, Alex McCallum, Keir Wotherspoon, Erik Roper, Ai Kobayashi, Caitlin Mahar, Chris Soeterboek, Pete Minyard, Stephan Bain, Nicole Davis, Tom Rogers, Jennie Jeppesen, Alex Dellious, Sophie Loy Wilson, Andrew Thackerah, Alex Cameron, Ben Mountford, Kirsty Marshal, Kirsty Barry, Allan Davies, Sally Grant, Jeroen Wijnendaele, Hannah Loney, Grace Edwards, Bronwyn Lowe, Charlotte Colding-Smith, Natasha Amendola and Gretel Evans. Special mentions to my ‘community based’ Local History Class at the Princes Hill Community Centre and the superb hospitality of Chateau Mann. I am grateful to Christine Grayden and Denise O’Hare who helped edit this thesis in addition to my supervisor Andy, as did Sue Farmery. This was an enormous task, and a debt that I still feel I will never be able to repay. It is impossible to see small errors in a document this large. If any errors remain, they are wholly my fault. To Friends and Family not already mentioned, thank you for putting up with my constant, and invariably inaccurate estimate of when I would really finish the beast. I did, eventually, get there. Thank you for waiting. I love you all, James, Sheri, Amando, Luke, Mum, Dad, Douglas, Megan, Emily, Catherine, Tricia, Max, Shane, Erica and Gareth. Finally to my partner Owen, who had the great misfortune to meet me during my second year, and has hung in all the way. Without your support, emotional and VII financial, I would never have made it. Thank you. I look forward to organising that pesky passport. VIII Table of Contents List of Figures and Tables: viii List of Abbreviations: xii Introduction: The Churchill Island Project 1 Chapter One: A Public History PhD 23 Chapter Two: Augmenting a Public History Approach 52 Chapter Three: Heritage Site: Genesis and Successive Transformations 66 Chapter Four: Making and Forgetting Churchill Island 96 Chapter Five: Settling an Island: Western Port Run to Island Home 133 Chapter Six: Creating a Seaside Retreat, an Expression of Confidence 173 Conclusion: The Churchill Island Project, a Public History Success Story 213 Bibliography: 224 Appendix A: Squatting and Settling 253 IX Lists of Figures and Tables Figures Fig. 1 Diagram illustrating how I defined my relationships with project stakeholders in 2008. Theory and Method Beyond the Ivory Tower: Churchill Island and Public History in Practice. 42 Fig. 2 Churchill Island, circa 1983. Courtesy of Carroll Schulz. 67 Fig. 3 Churchill Island 1976. Sketch by Robert Ingpen. 67 Fig. 4 Churchill Island 2008. Author’s Own. 67 Fig. 5 Restoration work on bakehouse chimney. Courtesy of Carroll Schulz. 79 Fig. 6 The shady main house garden and its cannon 2008. Author’s Own. 87 Fig. 7 Churchill Island from Fisher’s Wetland on neighbouring Phillip Island. Author’s own, 5 June, 2008. 96 Fig. 8 Line of shells near Bass Rock matching O’Neil’s description of a shell midden on Churchill Island. Author’s own, 2014. 102 Fig. 9 A. Arrowsmith, Charts of Port Dalrymple, Tasmania, Furneaux Islands, Western Port, Victoria and Twofold Bay, New South Wales, 20 February 1801. Courtesy of the NLA. 107 Fig. 10 A Portion of Chart of Western Port and Coast to Wilson’s Promontory forming Part of the North Side of Bass Strait. Courtesy of the NLA. 123 Fig. 11 Wetherall, Chart of Western Port in Bass’s Straits by Captn. Wetherall, H.M.S. Fly 1827. Courtesy of the NLA. 126 Fig. 12 A Portion of Australia, Bass Strait, Port Western surveyed by Commr. J.L.