dunno what style it is so you tell me

[william williams]

as I said you tell me what it is BUT THERE IS SOME HISTORY IN IT Heather may know

Old Nan © Written by Bill Williams

Now old Nan was near on ninety … as she hobbled round the town
Remembering dusty old McIvor … in the early days of Cobb and Co
She’d seen the sight of history … when Melville he was hanged
And seen the streets of McIvor … full of mud and slush,
In that boom town … when the rain came tumbling down

Oh she’d sit and huddle closer … to a little smoky fire
While she dreamed … about her days of years ago
At Emu Bottom Station … when she was just a child
roaming around Macedon ranges …. with her mom an dad
Why she’d seen old hanging rock …‘twas an eerie place to be

And saw that stony place where aborigines had been
Making knives and spear heads … of stone for all around
But they chased them out … or killed them in a scene
And things were tough then … for survival she had found
To live her life in McIvor, that’s now called … Heathcote town.

[Heather]

Bill I was just thinking before I got to the end of the poem that not many people would have heard of McIvor - know known as Heathcote. It was a gold town and the diggings were known as the McIvor Diggings and because you had to go through Kilmore to get there, Kilmore benefitted from those passing through.

Emu Bottom is at Sunbury and was one of Victoria's earliest settlements. I think George Evans was one of the settlers that came across with John Batman.

Were you referring to the Mt. William stone axe quarry Bill? Mt. William is near Kilmore.

Is this about a relative of yours Bill? Tell us more please..

[william williams]

Thank You Marty It was nice of you to say that PS and you to Bob

Bill the old Battler

[Bob Pacey]

Yeah it is a style all its own Bill more like a narrative as it tells the story.


That's the historian in Heather coming out Bill.

Cheers Mate.

[william williams]

here you are Heather this might help you as a do know a little of the area

Twenty five years ago I lived at Maryborough (Victoria) and trained drove trotters and pacers it was at Kilmore etc it was there I meet Vinny Knight who may be related to you
Any way years before that when I just 10 we had a cocker spaniel called Janie who was a problem and dad was going to put her down but sis and I preformed so much that he change his mind so he placed an add in the AGE newspaper. Free to a good home one three year old spayed, hole digging, kid loving, chook killing, cocker spaniel
The Age was inundated with replies so we choose one address at Kilmore and as we had an old spinster aunty who lived there we chose the area as we could stay the night at aunties. Up until I came up here I went to the area a few time as I have relations at Wangaratta and have spent many a evening sitting at the Cross at MT Macedon.
Enjoying the view, looking towards Melbourne. Did not know that the quarry was at MT William as I thought there was only one MT William and that is at the Grampians.


Bill the old Battler

[Heather]

Well there you go Bill, you can learn something new every day. Vinny Knight was Darren's cousin and Bob was his uncle.

Heather

[Bob Pacey]

WHAT Bob really is his uncle !!!!!!!


Go on pull the other one.


Robert

[Darren]

Yes Robert.

And Bob's my uncle as the saying goes.

Lots of history in the hills around Kilmore. The axe quarry at Mt William was a very popular trading place for the tribes in the area.

[Maureen K Clifford]

we really do live in a very small world - how is this for a co incidence - you never know who's watching boys and girls.

[Heather]

For those that don't know, Vinny Knight was a champion trotting driver and his father Bob a famous trainer. Vin's most famous horse was Popular Alm. Vinny took his own life in 1991 when he was at the top of his game. It was very sad.