By Parker McKenzie
A book on the early settlers of the Ferntree Gully area will be launched on Saturday 6 May at 10.30am, authored by a prolific local historian.
The Shire of Ferntree Gully: Early Settlers and Families 1838-1960 was written over the past three years by Ray Peace from the Knox Historical Society, who has authored several other history books on the local area and institutions.
Mr Peace said the book features 55 profiles of early settlers and the families from the area and more than 350 photos.
“I learned a lot things, such as who was responsible for some of some of the names in the area and some families got lucky and some didn’t,” he said.
“Some had misfortune come their way and for others, things went very well, but that’s always the case with history.”
The launch at Ferntree Gully Library will have tea, coffee and biscuits for those in attendance, and a speaker on local history.
Mr Peace said the main reason people decided to settle in the area was because of the good quality of the soil.
“Once they cleared away the arboreal cover, they found soil that was good for horticulture, for cows and sheep and also for growing orchards as well,” he said.
“For most people — reading the accounts that were left behind — I’d say it was pretty tough. They had to do everything manually, there were very few machines and there was certainly no transport.”
He said the area used to be focused on agriculture and fruit growing.
“This used to be an area of orchards, which are all gone now,” he said.
“There are a lot of photos of the orchards that used to be here.”
Until 1889, there was no railway into Ferntree Gully, meaning travelling to Melbourne would take most of a day to arrive by horse and carriage.
Mr Peace said this meant for the first 50 years, the settlers in the shire of Ferntree Gully were isolated.
“I love the story of Dr Simpson, the local medico, who did the rounds playing his bagpipes as he moved around,” he said.
“I enjoyed doing the research on this book and I think that shows in the finished product. It was a lovely book to work on and the people who have seen it so far think it’s great, which is nice.”
Anyone interested in attending the book launch can call the Knox Historical Society on 9758 6722 or email at KHS@relics.com
