Sunbury was first settled in 1836, by George Evans and William Jackson. It was Jackson and his brother, Samuel, who named the township Sunbury, after Sunbury-on-Thames, in Surrey, England when it was established in 1857. The Post Office opened on 13 January 1858.^[7]

Sunbury’s connection with the history and development of Victoria is influential because of its most famous and powerful citizen, “Big” Clarke. Clarke’s role as one of the biggest squatters in the colony and his power and position within the Victorian Legislative Council were critical in the early days of Victoria. During the early days of self-government in Colony of Victoria, post 1851, there was a continual struggle in parliament, between the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council for the ascendancy and control of government. It was the Council members, such as Clarke, who attempted to negate the excess of manhood suffrage, republicanism and Chartism as expressed in the Assembly, in order to protect their own squatters’ agenda and position. (Serle,The Golden Age, pp. 146–150.)”Big” Clarke as a member of the Victorian ‘bunyip aristocracy’ also frustrated any legislative reforms to opening the lands to small farm selections. Melbourne Punch depicted Clarke in anti-squatter cartoons, such as “The man in Possession” (Punch, 2 December 1858, p. 149.)

In 1859, “Big” Clarke was involved in a scandal around the discovery of gold on his holdings in nearby Deep Creek. Shares in the Bolinda company soared, Clarke sold his shares at the peak of the rush before the fraud was exposed. The gold assay was actually ‘salted’, possibly via a shotgun blast of golden pellets into the samples. Clarke claimed the rich assay was proved when washed in a soup bowl. The ever barbed Melbourne Punch explained how this fraud work in a cartoon of a chipped Chinese Willow Pattern plate titled the ‘The Soup Plate”. (Punch 9 February 1860, p. 21 see also O’Brien, Shenanigans, Ch. 3 for an insight and cartoons of 1850s, see also M. Clarke, “Big” Clarke for a comprehensive family history)

In 1837, William “Big” Clarke, came to the area, and gained vast pastoral licences encompassing Sunbury, Clarkefield and Monegeetta. (Spreadbrough, Victorian Squatters) In 1874, Clarke’s son, William, built a mansion, which resides on an estate named “Rupertswood“, after his own son, Rupert. This estate also has access to a train station, which was used to transport bales of hay to Adelaide. Though the private station was constructed in the late 19th century the Clarkes did not pay the railways for its construction until the 1960s. (Rupertwood railway Station no longer exists after the fast rail upgrade. There were two trains stopping daily during school holidays only, but now it is only a disused railway siding) (M. Clarke, “Big” Clarke) The Clarke’s also had a connection to the Kelly Gang story via their police connection with Supt Hare.

The younger William, Sir William as he was to become, was the president of the Melbourne Cricket Club, and it was through his position that the touring English cricket team came to spend Christmas of 1882 at Rupertswood. On Christmas Eve, the English team played a social game of cricket against a local team, which they won. Lady Clarke took one or more bails, burnt them, and interred the Ashes in a small purple velvet pouch, which she presented to the English Captain, Ivo Bligh. She proposed that the ashes be used as a perpetual trophy for matches between the two countries. Later the remains of the burnt bails were placed in a small urn. The Ashes have since become one of the world’s most sought-after sporting trophies.

In 1922, the Clarke family sold the property to H V McKay, the owner of the Sunshine Harvester Works, whose estate subsequently onsold it in 1927 to the Salesian Catholic order. Until recently the mansion and surrounding property has been used for educational and agricultural purposes, and as a boarding school for students of both academic and agricultural endeavours (Salesian College). The mansion has now been restored, and is used for weddings and other formal functions. The school, known as Salesian College, Rupertswood, is still located on the property.

In the early 1970s the area (which was then still largely rural) became famous in Australia as the site of the Sunbury Pop Festival, which was held annually from 1972 to 1975.

Culture

 

The front of the Rupertswood mansion, located in the Rupertswood Estate, Sunbury

The demographics/culture of Sunbury up until the mid-1980s was predominantly White Anglo-Saxon and some other minor ethnic groups. It has only been in the last 20 years that Sunbury has seen an increase of other nationalities (predominately from an immigration from New Zealand and the United Kingdom).

Sunbury’s residents represent diverse cultural backgrounds, partly due to the working class background, and proximity to major manufacturing and transport hubs, with Melbourne Airport only being 15 kilometres (9 mi) from the township. A recent trend for people who work in the Melbourne CBD to trade longer commute times for a more economic lifestyle (due to cheaper housing), has seen the population of Sunbury grow in number, with numerous new housing estates ringing the borders of the established township. Sunbury’s population was recorded as being 25,086 in the 2001 census, and is estimated at approximately 34,000 in 2006, making it the 38th largest urban centre by population in Australia. Sunbury has a high Caucasian population.

Retail and Entertainment

Sunbury has a town centre containing Coles, Woolworths, Foodworks and IGA supermarkets as well as Big W, Harris Scarfe and Target department stores. Away from the town centre is an Aldi Supermarket and a Bunnings Warehouse hardware store. There are also many food outlets situated in Sunbury. Sunbury also has a Reading Cinema located next to the railway station.

Transport

 

Sunbury Railway Station

Sunbury Railway Station is connected to Melbourne by V/Line services on the Bendigo train line. These services are not as frequent as those on the metropolitan Metlink service — an approximate hourly frequency is provided on weekdays, although on weekends service levels can be as infrequent as once every 80 minutes.

The State Government has announced that the line to Sunbury will be electrified, bringing suburban-standard services to the town.

Education

Primary Schools

• Sunbury Primary School
• Sunbury West Primary School
• Sunbury Heights Primary School
• Killara Primary School (VIC)
• Kismet Primary School
• St Anne’s Primary School
• Our Lady of Mount Carmel Primary School
• Goonawarra Primary School

Secondary Schools/High Schools

• Sunbury College (formerly Sunbury Secondary College, Sunbury High School)
• Sunbury Downs College (formerly Sunbury Post-primary School)
• Salesian College, Rupertswood

Other

• Sunbury and Macedon Ranges Special School
• Victoria University, Sunbury Campus

Sport

Sunbury is represented in the following sporting leagues:

• Australian rules football
  • Sunbury Football Club (Ballarat Football League)^[8]
  • Sunbury Kangaroos Junior Football Club (Riddell District Football League) Official Site
  • Rupertswood Football Club (Victorian Amateur Football Association) Official Site
  • Rolling Meadows Thunder Junior Football Club (Riddell District Junior Football League)

• Badminton
  • Sunbury Badminton Club Inc

• Basketball
  • Sunbury Basketball Association
  • Big V Basketball

• Lawn Bowls
  • Royal Victorian Bowls Association – Metro
  • Victorian Ladies’ Bowls Association

• Cricket

  Sunbury Cricket Club,Clarke Oval

• • Gisborne and District Cricket Association

• Dancing
  • Classique School Of Dance
  • Flash Dance
  • Sunbury school of Calisthenics

• Football
  • Sunbury United (Victorian State League 2)
  • Sunbury United Junior Football Club

• Golf
  • Golfers play at the course of the Goonawarra Golf Club at Francis Boulevard, Sunbury.^[9]

• Horse Riding
  • Sunbury Pony Club
  • Sunbury Riding Centre

• Rugby League
  • Sunbury Tigers (Victorian Rugby League) Official Site
  • Junior Side (Melbourne Junior Rugby League)

• Girl Guides
  • Sunbury Wongguri Guides (Age 7–11 years)
  • Sunbury Kamballa Guides (Age 11–14 years, 14–17 years)

• Scouts
  • 1st Sunbury Scout Group
  • 3rd Sunbury Scout Group
  • Wurundjeri Rover Crew

• Swimming
  • Sunbury Amateur Swimming Club
  • Aqua Wolves Swimming Club

• Tennis
  • Sunbury Lawn Tennis Club
  • Mt. Carmel Tennis Club

Historical books on Sunbury district and identities

• Serle, Geoffrey. The Golden Age A History of the Colony of Victoria, 1851-1861, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 1963. (gold, squatters and government)
• Spreadbrough Robert and Anderson, Hugh. Victorian Squatters, Red Rooster, Ascot Vale, 1983. (detailed maps of squatters runs in the district)
• Turner, Henry Giles, A History of the Colony of Victoria: from its discovery to its absorption in the Commonwealth of Australia, Vols 1 & 2, Melbourne, 1904.
• O’Brien, Antony. Shenanigans on the Ovens Goldfields: the 1859 election, Artillery Publishing, Hartwell, 2005. (details on the Bolinda Company gold scam and ‘Big’Clarke’s role in Upper House)

Politics

Sunbury is located in the City of Hume represented by Cr Ann Potter and Cr Jack Ogilvie, the State seat of Macedon, Ms Joanne Duncan MP, and the Federal Seat of Calwell Ms Maria Vamvakinou MHR.

People from Sunbury

• Cameron Guthrie, Australian rules footballer
• Mark Johnson, Australian rules footballer
• David Schwarz, Australian rules footballer
• Nathan Phillips, Actor
• James Kelly, Australian rules footballer
• Matthew Egan, Australian rules footballer
• Cameron Wight, Australian rules footballer
• Cassi Van Den Dungen, Australia’s Next Top Model, Cycle 5 runner up
• Max Williams, Professional Basketball Player

See also

• Rupertswood
• Salesian College (Rupertswood)
• Sunbury Bus Service
• Sunbury Downs College
• Sunbury Industrial School
• Sunbury Lunatic Asylum
• Sunbury-on-Thames
• Sunbury Pop Festival
• Sunbury Railway Station

References

Every year it has exhibited its Annual Art Show in May at Craiglea Winery (first 12 years) and the remaining (excepting 2009 at Emu Bottom) at the Boilerhouse Jacksons Hill Sunbury. Since 2002 the Society has also held a Summer Show.

The Society is a very friendly and active society, meeting twice weekly on Friday and Saturday between 10pm and 4pm at the Boilerhouse Jacksons Hill Sunbury. These meetings include painting in a group atmosphere, members lending assistance to fellow members, running workshops and demos, developing friendships and enjoying lunch together on the Saturday.

The Society is also by inference a “social” club.  Annually the Society celebrates Christmas Dinner, Melbourne Cup Day Sweep lunch, Annual Dinner at a local restaurant, a celebatory supper after the Annual Art Show and a get together barbecue when the Society resumes in the new year. In addition some members will organise Theatre nights or just go to a local concert and others will get serious and organise a paintout.

There is no restriction on membership numbers.  We are always looking for new blood. Art lovers, beginners or the more experienced artists are all equally welcomed.

All we ask is that every member is an active member contributing in a positive manner to the activities run by the Society.

For more information Click Here

The game of the future is to put your money on investments where you can gain passive income. The only way to do this is to seek investment opportunities that have the potential to appreciate in value as well as open up a wellspring of other opportunities for you.

Beach Road Pattaya Thailand

Investing in Pattaya, Thailand for investment and lifestyle is a great way to Invest your money where it will surely grow. Opportunities to invest on businesses, mainly on real estate and condominiums are available all over Pattaya. The great thing about this is that when you invest on a property you can enjoy also the other benefits that the island has to offer.

Pattaya is located off the gulf of Thailand and it has two beachfronts that can offer a wide array of opportunities for relaxation and recreation. So if you are to invest on a property in Pattaya, you can choose a location near the city center where the restaurants and night life are or you can choose the one near the beach where most of the luxury hotels, spas, condominiums and water sports activities are located.

Investing in Pattaya can go both ways: first is you could buy a condo unit for your own personal use. This means that you have the sole ownership of the place you can stay in everytime you go to Thailand. You will have the opportunity to enjoy your vacation while feeling very much at home in the condo unit you have purchased; another way is to have the place rented by other tourists.

If you choose this second option, you will at least get the return of your investment at the same time have enough money for the unit’s upkeep. It is a wise decision to advertise your place for tourist accommodations because chances are you will not be there all the time to occupy the unit. In the times that you aren’t there, you at least have the chance to earn and gain profit from the rent money you will be collecting.

And while we are at the topic of profits and return of investments, we can certainly explore further the main reasons why investing in Pattaya is such a lucrative venture.

For one, Pattaya is ranked as one of the main tourist destinations in Asia. With over 6 million visitors to Pattaya every year, you can see the stream of regular clients who can avail of your place. You can easily charge peak and off-peak prices, at the same time you can have multiple bookings within a given month.

You are sure that there will be a constant outpour of people either for the first time checking out the place or repeat customers who have returned to experience the paradise once again.

Pattaya also prides itself of its shopping malls, hospitals opening up in Pattaya, golf courses, exotic and popular restaurants as well as other tourist spots all over the place. Investing in Pattaya, Thailand gives the assurance that while the place hosts the wonders of nature, it is also the place of comfort and leisure.

You can relax, enjoy water sports, experience the culture of the place and have a great time of exploration and adventure.

That’s what makes an investment worthwhile. You are sure that the place will be patronized and will continue to have a steady income because it has everything that most tourist destinations all over the world have to offer.

The rapid economic expansion in Pattaya, property market boom and the outpour from foreign investors are also the key benefits to buying a place in this part of Thailand. People are willing to spend their money here to shop, dine and experience other recreational activities – reasons for which the economy only continues to bloom in spite of the international economic downturn.

You have the assurance that investing in Pattaya will yield to more returns in the future and that properties will surely increase its economic value.

If you are a tourist investing in condominiums, you might be happy to know that there is a growing expat community, tourism and an increase in foreign support each year. Many expats and other tourists feel that to diversify their business ventures, they need to explore the Asian market further.

What better way to do that than to set up their own private businesses in a paradise such as this. That is why you can see lots of new residential sites, condominiums, restaurants, spas and other business establishments all over the place. Investors like to take the opportunity while the place is fairly new and moderately popular.

Another reason you should look into investing in Pattaya, Thailand is because of the main attraction which is nature at its best. You can enjoy sports and activities within the crystalline waters, enjoy the panoramic view from your condo unit and enjoy the long walks at the beach in the morning. The tropical climate entices you to do this all year round. You can visit the place and enjoy the beauty of nature at any given time.

If you are new at investing in properties, all you have to do is to research and study your potential investments before making any concrete decisions. Given these reasons for buying a property in Pattaya, Thailand, you can at least have a bird’s eye view of what to expect when you first visit the place.

These reasons also give you a head start on your research activities that gives you information of the benefits of the place as well as the business climate in the country. When you visit the place, go many different properties before making up your mind to close a deal. Make sure that you get all the information you need and check with local authorities about the laws concerning the owning of properties in Pattaya.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_William_Tracey

Adam Przewlocki has been the choir master of his beloved all female choir “The Sunbury Divas” for three years. So on the shirttail of their success on “Battle of the Choirs” Adam called for all interested men and boys to form an all male choir. Many husbands, friends and fans of the divas wanted to experience the excitement the girls had enjoyed and so didn’t take long to jump on the band wagon.

Their first rehearsal was in August 2008. The men were sorted out into different voice types, given cd’s, words and encouragement and so “The Sons of Sunbury” was born. They were twenty seven strong and building. Their ages ranged from 11 to 77. The sons are an unauditioned community choir and most of the men had little or no previous singing experience.

After only six weeks of rehearsals they had a repertoire of a dozen songs in four part harmony. They had endured gruelling but enjoyable rehearsals and developed a sound that even the guys themselves were amazed at.

Their first public performance was at Burnt Orange, a small bar and restaurant in Sunbury town. The audience was blown away and the sons experienced an elation and pride they would never have believed possible.

Their first professional and all suited up concert was at “The Olive Hill Estate” lovingly known as the home of the “Divas” and now the “Sons”. They performed for two sell out concerts and drew many a tear and raw emotion from the audience and their fellow choir members.

The “Sons” perform a wide range of music including classical, pop, musical comedy, ballads, jazz and folk and are now quickly becoming proficient at acapella. They continue to learn and grow as friends and as a large family always supporting each other. They’ve developed as a unit; strutting their stuff and adding chorelography and solos.

Earlier this year Adam’s two choirs joined together to raise money for the bushfire survivors by putting together a three hour long concert in front of over three hundred people. They raised over $5,000 and the sons touched the heart of the community with songs like “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, “Impossible Dream” and ” My Prayer”.

“The Sons of Sunbury” have started the way they mean to continue, with enthusiasm, pride and most of all passion, all of which has been passed onto them by their maestro and master of all these qualities, Adam Przewlocki.

© Norma Macans

Adam Przewlocki

About our Musical Director

Mr Cameron inspected the $2.2 million refurbishments at the station with Member for Macedon Joanne Duncan.

Ms Duncan said the upgraded station is offering improved police services for the community and ensuring police have the resources they need to help keep Victorians safe.

“This station has benefited from the Brumby Labor Government’s $450 million investment in community safety through the building or refurbishment of more than 160 police facilities as part of its biggest ever construction program,” Mr Cameron said.

“The recent works have led to better use of space at the station, an upgrade of heating and cooling systems and provision of community meeting space.

“The station is home to uniform officers and three Hume youth resource officers who help run a number of programs for local young people aimed at helping keep them, and the community safe.”

Ms Duncan said the Brumby Labor Government was committed to protecting people around Sunbury and also helping to protect their jobs.

“The refurbishment was also a boost to the local economy with Sunbury company AYJAY Constructions Pty Ltd carrying out the building works,” Ms Duncan said.

“The revamped station is a boon to community safety and something the local community can be proud to call their own.

“This is further proof of the Brumby Labor Government taking action to ensure Victoria’s police are well resourced and helping make Victorian streets safer.”

Sunbury is undergoing a population boom, with a number of rapidly expanding housing estates popping up across town.

The area is known for its historical significance to the region, and its wineries, which spread from the east of Sunbury to as far as Rockbank in the Melton Shire.

The Rupertswood Mansion, built in 1874, is one of Sunbury’s greatest treasures.

At its peak, the estate covered 31,000 acres, or 125 square kilometres.

Its claim to fame is as the Birthplace of the Ashes. When the English cricket team visited Australia in 1882, the estate’s owner Sir William Clarke invited the team over for drinks and a match against the house staff.

The English cricket team won, and as a memento of the occasion the lady of the house, Lady Janet Clarke, burnt the bails and placed them in an urn, thus creating the famous Ashes.

Then there was the Sunbury Pop Festival, which ran on Australia Day weekend from 1972 to 1975.

It attracted thousands from around Australia, to see local acts like Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, Skyhooks, Daddy Cool and Max Merritt and the Meteors and international bands like Deep Purple.

Before they were one of the biggest bands on the planet, Queen performed at Sunbury, but were apparently booed off the stage by the drunken revellers.

Freddie Mercury promised to return to Australia and show the crowd what they were made of.

About the Sunbury Leader

The Sunbury/Macedon Ranges Leader is one of Leader Community Newspapers’ oldest papers, originally being published as Sunbury News in 1892.

The paper has had many masthead changes since the mid 1960s when, under Broadglen Publishing Company, the first replated editions for Sunbury and the Macedon Ranges were published under the Regional banner.

On July 31, 2001, the Sunbury/Macedon Ranges Regional became known as the Leader and increased its circulation throughout the Macedon Ranges Shire, Sunbury, Bulla and Diggers Rest.

The ground-floor office at the southern end of the Sunbury retail district is situated 60km from the paper’s most remote circulation point, Malmsbury.

From the 1790s to the 1850s economic and social change across Europe encouraged the venturesome to rush to Victoria – in the hopes of grabbing land, or to try their luck on the goldfields. On the road to Bendigo they walked through Keilor, The Gap, Diggers Rest. Digging for gold was hard work, living quarters basic, good food scarce and expensive, accidents happened. Their Miners Right permitted them to own a small block of land, but many hankered for the pastoral land to be made available for farming.

The 1862 Land Act encouraged goldseekers to settle on small properties, and to explore the growing of food crops. Its novel industries clause specified 30-acre leases (and a later right to purchase) outside the proclaimed agricultural areas for yeomen farmers to grow diverse crops to support the population that had greatly increased through the gold rushes. Among tobacco, olives, oranges, hops, cider apples almonds, peaches, mustard, mulberries/silkworms, sorghum, hemp, flax and cotton, vine planting became a favourite – 62 applicants within the first year, and some were experienced vignerons (Swiss and French). The Colonial Exhibition of 1861 had already featured 29 wine exhibitors from Geelong and Melbourne, Upper Yarra, Albury, Ballarat and Castlemaine.

The Intercolonial Exhibition of 1866 featured the wine of Victoria, NSW and SA. Here, the medals awarded to wines of the Sunbury region showed that wine could be grown south of the divide. At these local exhibitions producers could measure their wine against others in the colonies, and therefore ascertain the worth of sending their wine ‘home’ for judgment in Paris or Vienna (there in 1873 the judges were so impressed with the standard of Australian wines that they created a special diploma of honour).

The delight that gentlemen found in cultivating their vines can be seen in the words of Charles Maplestone, an architect who emigrated in 1853 to the goldfields, and for the Victorian Public Works Department designed many lighthouses, and lived in Heidelberg. “I know of no sight calculated to call forth gratitude to God for the bounties of His providence than the rich clusters of the luscious fruit and the beautiful foliage of the vine.” By 1860 he had a nursery of 7000 cuttings, and wrote to friends in England that “Victoria is destined to be a great wine growing country,” and promised to send them a bottle of Ivanhoe wine. His 1868 vintage produced 800 gallons of wine, 150 gallons of small wine (a vin ordinaire).

His son Harry became manager at Craiglee for politician winegrower, James Stewart Johnston, the Commissioner of Public Works. Sunbury had renown as the 12,7000 ha country seat of W.J.T. ‘Big’ Clarke extending from Macedon Ranges to Sunbury. (In 1874 his son, William built the 50-room mansion Rupertswood. He accompanied the English cricket team to Australia following the infamous game where cricket ‘died’ when Australia was victorious over the mother country.)
When the Bendigo railway was built as far as the Sunbury district, the population swelled with professional, political and commercial men who built a splendid home and demesne, and thought that viticulture would balance their busy lives. From 45 acres under vines in 1860, Sunbury’s crop grew to 328 in 1870-1.

James Stewart Johnstone lived at Craiglee from 1866-1872, building a fine home and 3-storey cellar on Jackson’s Creek, before returning to St Kilda, leaving Craiglee in the hands of his younger sons.

Across the creek was John Eadie’s Beneadie Vineyard, and R.S. Anderson’s Springvale Vineyard and cellars.

Nearby, on the steeper slopes, J.G. Francis, a wealthy merchant and acute politician, built Goona Warra, a fine bluestone home and winery.

With approximately 30,000 people having attended last Festival, we will again offer great attractions on our Main Stage and Dance Floor – live local bands performing great music from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, fire dancers, roving entertainers, Kids Entertainment – TV performers, Sunbury Idol and Sunbury Has Talent (Open Mike Night) talent shows, Youth Stage, Amusement rides and Carnival games, Grand Street Parade, show bags, Rock n Roll and Motor Show and over 50 quality stalls. This year also sees the introduction of our “Paws on Lawns” on the Sunday morning.

Our International Food Court offers a wide variety of gourmet foods and drinks from all around the world. Come sit down under our Shade and Shelter Pavilion and enjoy everything the Sunbury Community Festival has on offer.

Let Sunbury be the star attraction for your whole weekend!

If you would like to be involved with the Festival, but you’re time poor – why not think about:

*

Becoming a Friend of Sunbury Festival and help us behind the scenes or
*

To ensure the future of the Festival consider becoming a Neighbourhood Sponsor.

Please visit our side tabs for further information.

Dates: The dates for Festival 2009 are, as always, held on the third weekend in March:

*

Saturday 21 March, (Family Day) starting from 9.00am to 11.00pm and
*

Sunday 22 March, (Rock n Roll and Motor Show) starting from 10.00am to 5.00pm.

Location: @ the Village Green, Cnr O’Shanassy and Brook Streets, Sunbury.

Once again we have come up with a theme we feel will bring our community together in a fun way: 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy; in keeping with the heavens and planets above, the 2009 Festival theme is:

Spics n Specs

Cool Kid

Site Update
6/4/2009
Festival Images added
Click here for details

Australia Red Cross
Sunbury Community Festival Inc. proudly support the Red Cross.
We encourage you to give generously to this worthwhile cause.

Rod Quarrell presents

Falcon GT
An Aussie icon

Sunbury was first settled in 1836, by George Evans and William Jackson. It was Jackson and his brother, Samuel, who named the township Sunbury, after Sunbury-on-Thames, in Surrey, England when it was established in 1857. The Post Office opened on 13 January 1858. ^[6]

Sunbury’s connection with the history and development of Victoria is influential because of its most famous and powerful citizen, “Big” Clarke. Clarke’s role as one of the biggest squatters in the colony and his power and position within the Victorian Legislative Council were critical in the early days of Victoria. During the early days of self-government in Colony of Victoria, post 1851, there was a continual struggle in parliament, between the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council for the ascendancy and control of government. It was the Council members, such as Clarke, who attempted to negate the excess of manhood suffrage, republicanism and Chartism as expressed in the Assembly, in order to protect their own squatters’ agenda and position. (Serle,The Golden Age, pp. 146–150.)”Big” Clarke as a member of the Victorian ‘bunyip aristocracy’ also frustrated any legislative reforms to opening the lands to small farm selections. Melbourne Punch depicted Clarke in anti-squatter cartoons, such as “The man in Possession” (Punch, 2 December 1858, p. 149.)

In 1859, “Big” Clarke was involved in a scandal around the discovery of gold on his holdings in nearby Deep Creek. Shares in the Bolinda company soared, Clarke sold his shares at the peak of the rush before the fraud was exposed. The gold assay was actually ‘salted’, possibly via a shotgun blast of golden pellets into the samples. Clarke claimed the rich assay was proved when washed in a soup bowl. The ever barbed Melbourne Punch explained how this fraud work in a cartoon of a chipped Chinese Willow Pattern plate titled the ‘The Soup Plate”. (Punch 9 February 1860, p. 21 see also O’Brien, Shenanigans, Ch. 3 for an insight and cartoons of 1850s, see also M. Clarke, “Big” Clarke for a comprehensive family history)

In 1837, William “Big” Clarke, came to the area, and gained vast pastoral licences encompassing Sunbury, Clarkefield and Monegeetta. (Spreadbrough, Victorian Squatters) In 1874, Clarke’s son, William, built a mansion, which resides on an estate named “Rupertswood“, after his own son, Rupert. This estate also has access to a train station, which was used to transport bales of hay to Adelaide. Though the private station was constructed in the late 1800s the Clarkes did not pay the railways for its construction until the 1960s. (Rupertwood Train Station no longer exists after the fast rail upgrade. There were two trains stopping daily during school holidays only, but now it is only a disused railway siding) (M. Clarke, “Big” Clarke) The Clarke’s also had a connection to the Kelly Gang story via their police connection with Supt Hare.

The younger William, Sir William as he was to become, was the president of the Melbourne Cricket Club, and it was through his position that the touring English cricket team came to spend Christmas of 1882 at Rupertswood. On Christmas Eve, the English team played a social game of cricket against a local team, which they won. Lady Clarke took one or more bails, burnt them, and interred the Ashes in a small purple velvet pouch, which she presented to the English Captain, Ivo Bligh. She proposed that the ashes be used as a perpetual trophy for matches between the two countries. Later the remains of the burnt bails were placed in a small urn. The Ashes have since become one of the world’s most sought-after sporting trophies.

In 1922, the Clarke family sold the property to H V McKay, the owner of the Sunshine Harvester company, who subsequently onsold it in 1927 to the Salesian Catholic order. Until recently the mansion and surrounding property has been used for educational and agricultural purposes, and as a boarding school for students of both academic and agricultural endeavours (Salesian College). The mansion has now been restored, and is used for weddings and other formal functions. The school, known as Salesian College, Rupertswood, is still located on the property.

In the early 1970s the area (which was then still largely rural) became famous in Australia as the site of the Sunbury Pop Festival, which was held annually from 1972 to 1975.