Early pioneer at Hazel Glen, now known as Doreen, Michael Brennan ‘was born in 1830 in the county of Kilkenny, Ireland, and arrived in Australia in 1855, landing in Queensland, whence he drove sheep to Victoria. He reached the Sand Hills towards the end of 1856, and went thence to the Bendigo diggings, afterwards visiting in succession the Goulburn, Pleasant Creek, and Ararat. Coming to Melbourne, he went thence first to Gippsland and then to New Zealand, where he remained for six or seven years, and then returning too Victoria went to his present location at Hazel Glen, where he lives in comfortable circumstances.’
from “Victoria and its Metropolis: Past and Present” written in 1888 by Alexander Sutherland.
Chapter 19, “The Upper Yarra District” page 407 Includes descriptions of some townships and short biographies of local residents.
