During 2005 Nillumbik Shire Council and the Literary Reference Group invited members of the community to respond to these questions, to show us the history and flavour of your place – then and now – in a 500 word anecdote.
The original title of this article was: “The story of Worlingworth”
The property known as “Worlingworth” is a large barn of a house of sixty squares standing on a knoll above the River Yarra. The main house was built in the 1920’s by Commander Alan A Barlee (R.N.) but the old house of rose pink hand-made bricks and stone quarried on the property was incorporated in the newer house. The original French doors open onto a paved veranda overshadowed by an old oak tree that early owners brought from their acorn tree in England. A mud brick dairy, one of the oldest buildings in an area known for its mud brick and pise buildings stands with its whitewashed walls under the shadow of this tree.
The original land grant for the property was made to Patrick Alfred Armstrong on the fourteenth of March 1862 as Lot 32. It is stated that it was “within the village of Eltham Allotment Seven A bounded in the East by Allotment 8 A – bearing North thirteen chains, ninety links on the North West by a Road one chain wide bearing South forty eight degrees forty six minutes West nineteen chains thirty three links to a creek on the South West by the said creek – bearing South Easterly to its Junction with the Yarra River and on the South East by the said river bearing North Easterly to the commencing point.”
The purchase price was 32 pounds, 6 shillings and 11 pence.
I have no record as to how long the Armstrongs lived at “Worlingworth”, but during the First World War, Mrs. Agnes Dobson lived here with her family.
“Worlingworth” was purchased by Commander Barlee in 1922 after he had won the Calcutta Sweep. The property included a nine-hole golf course, tennis court, bowling green and a boat house and boat ramp. He was also a water colourist and two of his paintings of the property are still in the house. In those days the only means of heating was with wood fires and Barlee suffered from asthma. He sold out to Alan Clark who lived here with his elderly mother until 1934 when it was sold to Donald Thompson.
Donald, a friend of Percy Leason rented a house in New Street, known as Lavender Park Road. Donald used to walk down to “Worlingworth”. He learned that the Clarks were planning to sell and he made them an offer which they declined. However, when the 1934 flood occurred he called upon them and found that they were ready to vacate. He made them another offer which they accepted. He figured out that if ever the river reached the house that South Yarra would be in the middle of Port Phillip Bay. The Thomson family have lived here ever since.
Donald once said to me “You should find out where the name “Worlingworth” came from!” Strangely enough I was once in a bookshop, idly leafing through an English Country Life calendar and came across a picture of a country scene. The caption said “The village of Worlingworth, Suffolk, England.”
I wrote to the mayor and my letter was passed on to the Vicar. It appeared that the Armstrongs had a forebear who was the Vicar there and they grew up there.
One Christmas descendants of the Armstrongs happened to call and told us that the acorn from which the oak tree grew was brought by the forebears from Worlingworth, England. Some years later I was in England and took back some acorns to the Vicar!
©Dorita Thomson
Image: Worlingworth, ca 1970. SEPP_0731 Shire of Eltham Pioneers Photograph collection, Yarra Plenty Regional Library in partnership with Eltham District Historical Society,
