...a place in the KellyGang story
Areas
Before European settlement the area around Mansfield is thought to have been occupied by the Youngillim or Wuywurrung Aborigines.
The name comes from the town of Mansfield, near Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire or after early European settler Edward Mansfield .
The town of Mansfield was started 1846 as a designated stock route camp. In 1851 it was a centre for a large area of mining towns in the mountains.The breadth of the main street was to enable bullock teams to do U-turns.
The first town blocks were sold in 1856
The town was formed on the corner of the Maindample, Preston, Loyola, and Mt Battery squatting runs.
The town was a centre for gold mining and timber getters.
People went to the Jamieson gold fields from Mansfield. See (Argus31/8/61)
Schools
Newspapers
Common school
Mr Hanslip'sschool (Alexandra3/11/1868)
Mansfield Guardian
George W Newland (Argus18/3/79)
George Collopy messenger at the Mansfield post and telegraph office (Argus18/3/79)
Postal route between
Mansfield and Delatite
Mail route from Longwood to Mansfield
via Merton, Doon, and Maindample
- Robertson Wagner & Co
Mansfield had a wide range of shops, brick works, flour mll, timber mills and a building stone quarry.
Court
Nathaniel Joseph Maude (Mane), clerk of the police court, (Argus21/11/78)
(Argus18/3/79)
Mr A Dundas, butcher (Argus10/5/79)
(Argus17/5/79)
Edwin Moorey, J P -storekeeper (Argus18/3/79)
Peter Walker, storekeeper (Argus21/11/78)
(Argus18/3/79) (Argus15/5/79)
Builder Kilgour (Alexandra3/11/1868)
Gold escort (Argus23/12/78)
Lawyer Windsor (Alexandra10/11/1868)
Lime Kilns Mr Knight
Newspapers Mansfield Independent started by Mr Goodall (Alexandra10/2/1871)
The Alexandra Times had a disagreement with the Mansfield Guardian (Alexandra2/6/1871)
Pound keeper - William Collopy,
Walker (Argus17/5/79)
Races (Argus7/3/79)
Saddlier
Charles Boles (Argus17/5/79)
Surveyor, Mr Nixon (Alexandra10/11/1868)
What was the area like (Argus9/5/79)
Please spend a few moments reading about the selectors in the area and how they lived. They were our sympathisers. (Argus27/4/80)
Mansfield was the south eastern base for the police against the KellyGang. Insp Pewtress was the officer in charge of the police in Mansfield at the time of the murders on 26/10/1878. The subdistrict went from Broken River north to Wood's Point south. (RC118)
Const McIntyre was stationed at Mansfield at the time of the Fitzpatrick incident. (RC12851)
It is the nearest town to site of Stringy Bark Creek and the police murders.
A man called Nicolson provided some information to the police in late September 1878 (RC439)
Stringy Bark Murders
Sgt Kennedy was based in Mansfield (RC1731)
On 24/10/1878 SConst Kelly met Sgt Kennedy in Mansfield and told him he was going out after the KellyGang. Kennedy asked the SConst for an extra rifle that was being carried by another police officer.(RC7978)
Const Meehan was left incharge of the Mansfield police station (RC17647) Insp Pewtress had a cold (CHC)
. Search to recover bodies
President of the Shire of Mansfield, James Tomkins sent a message to Graves complaining about the police equipment . (RC15493)
Mr Kitchen JP sent the news to Standish, see text (Argus29/10/79)
I was a member of the committee for the memorial to the dead police. (Argus14/12/78)
Percy William Bromfield/ Mr W Collopy seach party to find the bodies (Argus28/10/78) (Age1/11/78)
Dr Reynolds from Mansfield,
examined the bodies of Consts Lonigan
and Scanlon. (Argus30/10/78)
Mr Kitchen conducted the magisterial enquiry into the deaths. (Argus30/10/78)
Rev Scanlon from Benalla conducted the
burial of Const Lonigon and Scanlon in Mansfield. (Argus30/10/78)
. Hunt for Sgt Kennedy
Mr Tomkins, Mr Bromfield, and Mr Collopy were part of the search party that
found the body of Sgt Kennedy (Argus31/10/78)(Age1/11/78)(CHC)
(JJK)
Mr Kitchen was bussy sending telegrams with news of the events (Age1/11/78)
(Argus1/11/78)
Stringy Bark Murders, in November 1878 SConst James led a search party after the KellyGang from Mansfield to Lancefield to Wombat, Stringy Bark Creek falls (Ryan's branch ?) to Roschiel homestead, Peter Lane's run, between Mason's Fifteen Mile Creek and Killers, on head of Fifteen-mile Creek, to right-hand branch of the King. (RC676)
Funeral for Sgt Kennedy was a big event (Argus2/11/78)
Soon after this there was a call for a memorial to the police. (Argus13/11/78)
The proclamation resulting in the KellyGang members being declared outlaws was made from the steps of the Mansfield Courthouse on 15/11/1878.
Ass Com Nicolson telegraphed the police at Mansfield after the Euroa robbery. (RC526)
Sympathizers ran through the town (Argus16/11/78)
SConst James was based in Mansfield, He sent out search parties after the Euroa robbery. (RC1262)
Insp Pewtress left Mansfield on 8/1/1879 and Insp Jeremiah Toohey took over the police station.
6 sympathizers were arrested in Mansfield (Alexandra11/1/1879)
July 1879 Nicolson stationed a small body of men at Mansfield, under Sub-Inspectors Jeremiah Toohey and Pewtress. (RC2ndReportXII) (RC713)
Memorial
Committee formed to establish a Memorial to Sgt Kennedy and the others. (Argus14/12/78)
The Memorial Committee membership (Argus20/12/78)
(Argus21/12/78)(Alexandra21/12/1878) (Argus15/4/79)
(Argus7/10/79)
On 22/4/1880 Bishop Moorehouse
came to Mansfield to dedicate the memorial to Sgt Kennedy and Consts Lonigan
and Scanlon. The event drew a large crowd. Read the other speeches (Argus23/4/80)
(Argus 27/4/80) (Illustrated8/5/1880)
Graves thought that the Royal Commission should hold hearings in Mansfield because, 'I am positive if you go there you will get most material evidence as to how those men were supported, but I cannot say whether they will give you the information; they can give you astonishing information if they think fit.' (RC15555)
In 1891a branch railway line was opened from Tallarook to Mansfield
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