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Ballarat
Branch
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Cornish Association of
Victoria Inc. - Ballarat Branch President:
Keith Laynon
Adminstrative Secretary: Mrs
Wendy Benoit. Treasurer/Membership
Secretary: Mr. Jim Hocking email
Jim
Hocking Librarian: Mrs Wendy Benoit. email Wendy Benoit Click here to view the holdings of the branch's extensive Library Newsletter Editor: Robyn Coates |
MEETINGS The
Ballarat Branch meets on the first Saturday of every
EVEN month at 2.00 pm. The venue is the Skipton
Street Uniting Church Hall, cnr Skipton &
Darling Streets, Ballarat South (opposite Skipton
and Drummond St crn).
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Upcoming
Program
Sunday 1st March 2026 - St Piran’s Day - Church
Service at Skipton St UC and lunch at the Bistro at
Bray’s RacewaySaturday 27th March will be the April Meeting due to Easter being the first weekend in April. This meeting will be presented by members and will detail some servicemen with a Cornish connection.
Note: You can read all the recent CAV Newsletters by clicking here.
Recent Events
Christmas Luncheon - Saturday 6th December
Eighteen people gathered at The Grand and enjoyed a
delicious Christmas meal with lots of chatter.Wendy Benoit challenged us all with a multiple choice quiz about Cornwall and there was much discussion as we mulled over the answers.
Try the quiz repeated in the February 20226 Ballarat Newsletter
Visit to St Erth Gardens in Blackwood - 19th
November 2025
See a full report in the February
20226 Ballarat NewsletterOctober Visit to Geelong
A comprehensive report was included in the November 2025
CAV NewsletterSaturday 2nd August 2025 - Jenny Burrell, "Who Benefited Most from the Gold Rush"
Those who benefited:* Miners if they were lucky to strike plenty of gold
* those who serviced the population - general shop keepers, hotel keepers ( there was a sly grog industry - e.g. Bentley’s pub); carters of goods; boot makers; tradespeople - blacksmiths. carpenters; butchers; bakers; coach operators, candle makers, tent makers etc
* women also had trades - dressmakers; milliners; teachers.
*James Oddie - A Ballarat older statesman, leader, and benefactor on his 85th birthday, quoted a Professor Gregory and suggested that the British Government had benefited to the sum of £500 million - The £500,000,000, to Britain had been the biggest thing that had happened to her for the last 500 years.
Yet the early pioneers had been told they were only rogues and vagabonds. Did they ever hear of an industry being started by rogues and vagabonds? … They were men of honour, energy and of great mental power.
It was a very enjoyable and informative afternoon which concluded with a delicious afternoon tea.
Saturday 8th June 2025 - Annual General Meeting
Although it was a cold miserable day, fourteen members
ventured out to the Skipton Street Church Vestry for
some fellowship and heard a wonderful talk about the Fox
Family from Falmouth delivered by the President of the
CAV, Brian Rollason.Brian also conducted the election of Officer Bearers:
Chair person Keith Lanyon.
Vice Chair Wendy Benoit. ,
Admin Secretary Wendy Benoit.
Treasurer Jim Hocking.
Committee Members Robyn Coates and Bev Hocking.
Brian Rollason shared an interesting talk about the Fox family from Falmouth, with beautiful photos of their gardens and a strong recommendation of anyone who visits Cornwall to make the gardens a part of their itinerary.
A full report of Brian's talk can be found in the August 2025 Ballarat CAV Newsletter
Saturday 5th April 2025 - Visit to the Chinese Library in Sturt Street
Following a short meeting and afternoon tea, members met at the Chinese Library, corner of Lydiard and Sturt Streets, for our April Gathering.The library houses about 130 000 books, some of the rarest in the world - in fact some are the only copies in the world and also artefacts and objects of interest.
Mr Sun donated 10 000 of his own books to the library after he closed his Chinese book shop in Mount Waverley twenty years ago, and the rest have been donated by people in the Chinese community and Chinese book publishers.
A Chinese bible from 1857, used by Chinese goldminers, donated by the National Trust of South Australia, is the only copy in Australia and was left by the men at Penola.
A similar copy sold recently for $US 50 000.
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St Piran's Day - Sunday 2nd March Skipton Street Uniting
The Church congregation welcomed members of the Cornish Association to join with them in Worship celebrating their Cornish heritage.Lunch followed at the Flying Horse Bistro.
Following lunch, the fittest of our members were given a tour of the Old Colonist Association building in Lydiard Street.
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Saturday
1st February 2025 - Keith Lanyon
An interactive session began Keith Lanyon’s talk for the
afternoon’s meeting. “When I say Cornwall or
Cornish what comes to mind?” Answers included –
wonderful singing; a well kept secret; beautiful coast
line; family connection; ancestral villages; Cornish
pasties; Roskilly Ice cream; Rodda’s cream; cream teas;
smuggling; ancestors; Duchy; isolation; Doc Martin; well
educated mining men.Keith talked about the well know Cornish literary figures such as Robert Louis Stephenson, Ernest Victor Thompson, Derek Tangye, Rosamond Pilcher, Winston Graham, Hammond Innes, Jack Higgins and Daphne du Maurier.
Following Keith’s talk, a discussion took place about some of the difficulties facing current residents of Cornwall and the associated problems in trying to preserve its sense of community and culture.
A full report of Keith's presentation can be found in the the Ballarat April Newsletter.
Saturday 7th December 2024 - Christmas Luncheon at the Grand in Dana Street
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Photos from
Chrissy Stancliffe
Saturday
5th October 2024 - Wendy Benoit's Quiz
1.What are the big plant geodomes in Cornwall called?2. What colour is the Cornwall flag?
3. Which cars were designed by a Cornish man?
4. The iconic Tate gallery is in which Cornish town?
5. Cornish pixies are famous for leading you off your path. How do you break their spell?
6. The sea is said to be 4- 5c more than the rest of England in Cornwall. True or False?
7. Name three top favourite things Cornish smugglers brought into Cornwall from France?
8. Name two Cornish delicacies made from full fat Cornish milk?
9. What bun does sycamore leaves go in?
10. What are Cornish sardines also known as?
11. What’s the path that runs around the Cornwall known as?
12. How long is the Cornwall coastline?
13. Name the only city in Cornwall?
14. What’s the most western point of the county?
15. Which classic series written by Kenneth Grahame was inspired by the River Fowey?
Saturday
3rd August 2024 - The Chinese History in Ballarat
- Mr George Zhang
His talk will covered
the last 170 years and will include why the Chinese
came to Ballarat, the famous Chinese during the Gold
Rush and the changes between the past and now.
George is a representative from the Chinese
Australian Cultural Society in Ballarat.
This group is involved in the Xin Jin Shan library
located on the corner of Lydiard and Sturt Streets
and has in excess of 140 000 books.
See ABC report from January 2023 about the library:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-10/chinese-library-ballarat-xin-jin-shan-opening/101828714
Saturday 1st June 2024 - This was the Annual General Meeting
Annual Election of
Office Bearers and Committee took place during the
meeting and was conducted by Ted Curnow, as Brain
Rollason (President of the CAV) was unable to attend
due to illness.
Those elected:
Chairperson - Keith Lanyon
Vice-Chairperson - Wendy Benoit
Administrative Secretary - Wendy Benoit
Treasurer- Jim Hocking
Committee Members - Robyn Coates & Bev Hocking.
Following the AGM, Beryl Curnow gave an illustrated
talk of the Four Seasons of Cornwall, featuring many
photos taken by Ted whilst they were living in
Cornwall for two years. Members were most interested
and thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the photos.
Saturday 6th April 2024 - St Piran's Day Celebrations Around the World
Robyn Coates showed
Slides of St Piran’s Day Celebrations in Ballarat,
Cornwall and Canada and of St Piran’s Oratory in
Cornwall.
| In Ballarat the celebrations
started with a traditional church service in the
Skipton Street Uniting Church. This was followed with Morning Tea in the Hall and then lunch at Craigs Hotel. The next visit was to St Paul’s Anglican Church on Bakery Hill. St Paul’s dates to 1854. Then we were off to Ballarat Central Uniting Church where David Pratt greeted us and shared with us some of stories of former parishioners with a Cornish connection. Robyn then shared with us information concerning St Piran’s Oratory and this can be found at: https://www.cornishvic.org.au/latenews.html |
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The photos are: The Choir; Keith Lanyon; Dr Anne Doggett; David Pratt; Dinning at Craigs Hotel; St Paul's and Central Uniting Church
Saturday 3rd February 2024 - Dr Phil Roberts OAM, a noted Ballarat historian, writer and well known educator throughout Ballarat.
Phil shared information from some of his books, including some hints in writing, and it was a most entertaining afternoon.
Phil has written 21 books - six school histories; five sporting club histories; four local industry books and six community histories. Phil, also reminded us of the wonderful Ballaarat Mechanics Institute (BMI) and its programme of Twilight Talks. Phil is a former President of BMI. These talks are hosted by Phil and Neil Leckie. Neil Leckie is a BMI Member and is one of the BMI Tour Guides. Neil is also a former Army Reservist with an interest in Ballarat’s military history. He manages the military museum at Ranger Barracks in Alfredton. (if you have an interest in Ballarat Military History then this Museum is worthy of a visit) BMI is located at 117-119 Sturt Street. Tours of the collection are held regularly in the daytime. https://ballaratmi.org.au/ |
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Saturday 3rd December - Annual Christmas Luncheon - at the Ballarat Grand
There was great fun, friendship, good food, quizzes
and singing. A great time was had by all in
attendance.
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To view the photo
gallery for this event, Click here
Wednesday 18th October 2023 - the launch of the CAV Library at the Castlemaine Historical Society - 7 Goldsmith Crescent, Castlemaine
To view the photo
gallery for this event, Click here
Saturday 7th October 2023 - The speaker will be
Simon Dennis from Buninyong
A comprehensive
article on the Dennis Family can be found in the
December issue of the Ballarat CAV Newsletter dated
December 2023. Click
here to read this Newsletter
Saturday 5th August 2023 - Jenny Burrell and the 1891 Women’s Suffrage Petition
In 1865, following a
brief debate, Parliament passed a law, restricting
the vote to male ratepayers only. In 1891, in
an extraordinary effort to gain the right to vote
for all Victorian women, a handful of dedicated
women took to the streets and railway stations to
collect signatures for a petition. The Women’s
Christian Temperance Union and the Women’s Suffrage
Society took up the challenge.
In just six weeks, almost 30,000 women and men from
more than 800 different Victorian towns and suburbs
signed the petition, affirming their belief that
'Women should Vote on Equal Terms with
Men'.
These is the open
remarks of Jenny's fascinating story. It
is a "must read" for all who are unfamiliar with
the story. Read a full report in the
October addition of the Ballarat CAV Newsletter
dated October 2023. Click
here to open this Newsletter
 Letter to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly accompanying the Petition; The Petition; Joan Hunt and Jenny Burrell with the Petition; Val D'Angri, Jenny and visiting friend. |
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Saturday 3rd June 2023 -
Annual General Meeting -
Brian Rollason, President of CAV the speaker
For a report of the AGM click
here to read from the Ballarat August Newsletter.
Brian's presentation was about Pendennis and St Mawes Castles, situated on either side of the mouth of the Fal River.
The talk included talk included lots of photos, drawings and maps.
| The castles are two of the finest
surviving coastal fortresses which began as gun
forts in the 16th century as part of Henry
VIII’s plan to protect England. The castles were built from 1539-1545 when England faced a possible invasion from the united powers of Catholic Europe and were part of the national plan by Henry devised to strengthen military and naval forces. In 1533, Henry VIII had broken with Pope Paul III in order to annul the long-standing marriage to his wife, Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. Catherine was the aunt of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, and he took the annulment as a personal insult. This resulted in France and the Roman Empire declaring an alliance against Henry in 1538, and the Pope encouraging the two to attack England. |
 A Map of Falmouth |
click here to read from the Ballarat August Newsletter
Saturday 1st April 2023 - Maureen Waddington,
director of Mission from St John of God Hospital.
There are seventeen St John of God Hospitals – sixteen
in Australia – seven in Victoria, seven in Western
Australia and two in New South Wales - and one in New
Zealand.The Congregation of the Sisters of St John of God was founded in Wexford, Ireland, in 1871
Inspired by the work of their patron saint, St John of God, they nursed those in poverty. Saint John of God devoted his life to alleviating human suffering, and comforted the afflicted, sick and dying.
He was particularly passionate about combating the injustices experienced by people disadvantaged through illness or destitution.
| The Sisters of St John of God
first came to Ballarat in 1915 in response to a
call from Bishop Higgins to help care for people
in the community who were suffering from
infectious diseases such as diphtheria and
typhoid. They were based in Bailley’s Mansion and it was a 25 bed hospital. Initially, they were not embraced by the community but after twelve months when people realised that they were offering a service to all, not just those of the Catholic faith, things improved. They were based in Bailley’s Mansion and it was a 25 bed hospital. Initially, they were not embraced by the community but after twelve months when people realised that they were offering a service to all, not just those of the Catholic faith, things improved. |
 Les, Maureen and Keith |
Sunday 5th March 2023 - St Piran's Day
It was wonderful that Ballarat Members were joined by
friends, from Melbourne, Geelong and even a couple from
New Zealand, to celebrate St Piran’s Day in 2023.Following the Church Service, members began an interesting and informative tour put together by Bev and Jim Hocking, tour guides extraordinaire, ably assisted by Simon Dennis, from Buninyong, who lived and breathed Buninyong History.
| The Chairperson of the Ballarat
Branch of the Cornish Association, Rev. Keith
Lanyon, led a ‘Church Service to Commemorate the
Cornish in Ballarat’, at Skipton Street Uniting
Church, with members Les George, Wendy Benoit,
Lorice Jenkin and Robyn Coates taking part in
the service. Following the Church Service, members began an interesting and informative tour put together by Bev and Jim Hocking, tour guides extraordinaire, ably assisted by Simon Dennis, from Buninyong, who lived and breathed Buninyong History. The first stop was The Crown Hotel was our lunch. Then visits to Buninyong Town Hall and Court House; Camellia Cottage; Havilah Cottage; Dr Longden’s House; The Post Office; Hiscock Memorial; and The Buninyong Cemetery. For the complete story along with photos see the June Newsletter. Click here |
 CAV members at kipton Street Uniting Church |
Saturday 4th February 2023 - Shared Family History Snippets
Keith Lanyon shared stories of his family and their farm.Robyn Coates showed an autograph book belonging to a great aunt and given to the aunt on her 21st birthday in 1901.
Arthur Coates told some of the story of his aunt, Maud Coates, who had trained as Primary School Teacher and was appointed to Glenlogie in 1927
Wendy Benoit shared a cutting, WHAT MINERS SUFFER (from The Bendigo Independent 12 August 1908: page 2) concerning the death of John Barnett. John was one of the sons born to Charles Barnett and his wife Ellen Moxley, who married in 1854.
Jenny Burrell shared information about the Lukeis family she had come across whilst researching.
Eli Lukeis was the eldest son of Samuel Lukeis and Mary Freeman Caddy (daughter of Michael Caddy/Mary Freeman)
Val D’Angri told us of The Prophecies of Mother
Shipton who was born in 1488.
She was an unknown to those present at the meeting
and we had a chuckle at some of the prophecies.
To read the stories in full, see the Ballarat Newsletter, April 2023. All the recent newsletters can be found by following this link.
Saturday 3rd December 2022 - Christmas Luncheon
Ballarat members, joined by Ken and Lyn Peak and Neil
and Marilyn Thomas, were delighted to meet together
for the Annual Christmas lunch, held in December, at the restaurant in the
historic Ballaarat Club building dating from 1889.
The beautifully decorated room was a wonderful
setting for our gathering and the traditional
Christmas meal was greatly appreciated.
During the meeting two original members of the
Association – John Mildren and John Stuchbery - were
presented with an Honorary Life Membership by Ken
Peak, past President of the CAV.
Both had recently celebrated their 90th birthdays.
Interestingly, both Johns had begun their working
lives as school teachers and had taught at Teachers’
Colleges.
 Diners |
 John Stuchbery with Ken |
 John Mildren with Ken |
Saturday 1st October 2022 - Doug Bradby
Doug Bradby gave a
fascinating talk about the Ballarat Goldfields, from
the beginning of the gold discoveries by shepherds
to the establishment of large mines employing many
of the Ballarat men.
He included the involvement of the Cornish Miners,
their successes and their involvement in the
development of Ballarat.
Doug has written seven history books for children
and three books that explore Ballarat’s mining
history.
Following his entertaining talk, members were keen
to purchase copies of his books.
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Saturday 6th August 2022: Jenny Burrell
Ballarat and District
Resources for Family History Research
Saturday 2nd April 2022: Ted Curnow, "The Rediscovery of Celtic Spirituality In Cornwall?"
A full report of
Ted's Presentation can be read in the June 2022 copy
of the CAV Ballarat Branch Newsletter by clicking
this link
Saturday 6th February 2022 Members showed interesting ‘family treasures’
Les George – showed a
sampler which had been embroidered by his great
grandmother
Robyn Coates – also showed an embroidery sampler
which had been completed by Elizabeth Jane Hicks
David Pratt - Diary of William Carvosso
David’s mother’s maiden name was Carvosso and her
ancestor William Carvosso was born in Mousehole.
Ted showed a lamp in the form of an Engine House
Jenny bought a blue and white porcelain cat as a
gift for her daughter Jane.
Beryl Curnow brought cuff links and a pin and also a
brooch - all from the Blue Hills Tin Mine
Lenice Stuchbery brought a ring that was given to
Lenice’s father on his 21st Birthday
Arthur showed a leather family photo album which had
been given to his grandparents as a wedding gift on
4th January 1893
Bev Pratt shared with members a tribute to her
brother, Clive Luckman, who had died recently
written by Stephen Hawke, the current President of
the Genealogical Society of Victoria.
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Keith Lanyon showed
an old photographic negative on glass originally
thought to be of Keith’s great, great grandfather
produced by the Collodion Process
Val D'Angri showed memorabilia of the opening of
Parliament in May 1901 along side some souvenirs of
celebrations for the 100th year of Australian
Parliament as well as a small china doll with hand
crocheted clothing.
Chrissy Stancliffe brought a ring that seems to have
belonged to her great, great grandmother, whose name
was Alice Ada Pearce - she was born on 28th March
1868 at Napoleon Lead
Wendy Benoit showed a tooled leather photo album of
family photos including an original photo of her
maternal great, great grandfather William Hicks who
had been the Mine Manager of the Star of the East
Mine in Sebastopol
Saturday 4th October 2021: Val D'Angri: The Restoration of the Stawell Miners' Banner
Val worked on the restoration of this banner and here tells us all how it was done.
Saturday 7th August 2021: Austell Lanyon: Gold Mining in Victoria
Austell
gave a fascinating presentation to the Ballarat
Branch.
Saturday 3rd April 2021 - Keith Lanyon - History of Pirates
Today the term pirate
has a certain ???romance??? about it and pirates are
often portrayed as dashing and charming rather than
as the villains they were.
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All piracy is related to theft typically with the aim of stealing valuable goods ??? people for slavery or hostage/ransom, cargo, valuable metals and jewels and even vessels. Keith
talked about all the historic dangerous area
for piracy.
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 The Admiral Benbow |
Penzance has a hotel, the Admiral Benbow, and atop
this hotel is a carving of Octavius Lanyon,
supposedly firing at the revenue men who were after
his crew for illegal imports.
He ended
with a prayer supposedly written by a minister on
the Isles of Scilly,
"We pray Thee, O Lord, not that wrecks should
happen, but that if any wrecks should happen, Thou
wilt guide them to the Scilly Isles for the benefit
of the poor inhabitants."
Read a full report of his presentation in the April
2021 CAV
Ballarat Newsletter
Saturday 6th February 2021: Robyn Coates Presented "Thomas Curnow ??? The Hero of Glenrowan"
Thomas Curnow was born in Cornwall on 4th June 1855 but was in Ballarat from 1857. Thomas studied to be teacher in the 1870s and in July 1876 he was appointed Head Teacher at State School 1742 in the township of Glenrowan, Into this peaceful life came the infamous Kelly gang. Kelly and his gang had ambushed many of the Glenrowan locals and held them hostage at the local hotel, but Thomas Curnow managed to convince Ned Kelly to let him to take his wife, child and sister home.His decision to alert the engine driver using a candle and red scarf saved many lives by stopping the train from being derailed. When the attempt to derail and ambush the police train failed Kelly and his gang engaged in a final violent confrontation with the Victoria Police at Glenrowan on 28th June 1880 resulting in a few deaths. Ned Kelly and his gang were subsequently arrested. Thomas Curnow would not have been a popular man and he would have been concerned for his and his family???s safety so he requested an immediate teaching transfer back to his home town of Ballarat. Thomas Curnow taught at two Ballarat schools ??? Dana Street and Urquhart Street ??? until his retirement on 30th June 1915. He had taught for 38 years and he retired with a pension of ??145.13.4 per annum. His retirement was newsworthy and is reported in many newspapers across Australia. |
 Thomas Curnow
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Cornish Association of Victoria Inc. -
Ballarat Branch President:
Keith Laynon
Adminstrative Secretary: Mrs
Wendy Benoit. Treasurer/Membership
Secretary: Mr. Jim Hocking email Jim
Hocking Librarian: Mrs Wendy Benoit. email Wendy Benoit Click here to view the holdings of the branch's extensive Library Newsletter Editor: Robyn Coates |