South Morang was developed early in the European History of Victoria, in the 1850’s. The Plenty River provided a reliable source of water before the construction of the Yan Yean Reservoir in the late 1850’s. Combined with the flat land and the close proximity to Melbourne, the region became a prime agricultural area, providing a large portion of Melbourne’s food needs. The Plenty Road also served as a main route to Sydney from Melbourne. Many hotels developed along its course to serve the needs of travellers. Land sales occurred early with considerable speculation by Sydney owners. In the booming times of the gold rush, all these factors combined to make the Plenty Valley a prime land zone in the 1850’s.
The Hawkstowe property had been owned for a short period by J.H. Walker, founder of Walker’s Biscuits, later taken over by Swallow and Aerial. It is not known whether any improvements were made or whether he lived at the property. Peter Le Page came to Australia from Guernsey in 1852. After 3 years on the Goldfields in Bendigo and Castlemaine he came to South Morang in 1855, but it is not clear whether he purchased the property at that time. In 1865, he married Emily Edwards and they had seven children at the property which was then called Hawkstowe. Le Page purchased several adjoining properties, producing a farm of over 200 acres, large for its time and very large for dairying. In 1913 Peter Le Page died at age 92. His farm had already been divided up amongst his children. His son C.P. Le Page acquired Hawkstowe, which remained in the family until its purchase by Mr. Cotter in 1940. The property changed hands several times thereafter, before finally being purchased by Parks Victoria in 1986.
Source: Unsourced flyer
Photo: Le Page Homestead, 2013. Photographer: Kevin Patterson
