https://olneyfamilyarchives.blogspot.com
Through My Eyes From 1927
Introduction:
Our residence is called OLNEY HOUSE. Named in recognition of our family.
Grandfather and Grandmother Olney or great grandfather and great grandmother or great, great grandfather and great, great grandmother, depending on generation, started our holiday life style at Pt Leo and Shoreham. Our love of the area continues to grow.
We hope you enjoy your stay at Olney House, the beaches and the hospitality offered at the many local attractions.
Below is a history of how we came to be at Shoreham.
Author: Gwenda Owens (nee Olney) born February 1926.
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| Gwenda Olney |
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| Gwenda Owens |
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| Bert and Gwenda Owens. |
In 1919-1920 or there about, my parents Arthur Edgar Olney and Doris Gwendolyne Olney first came to holiday at Pt.Leo. They travelled in a horse driven Piono Box Buggy from East St Kilda, with three small boys. I was yet to be born. They came down to the foreshore pushing their way through scattered tea-tree to East Creek, Pt Leo, sometimes referred to as Pt Leo back beach.
Pt Leo from their first visit, remained in their minds, and eventually they decided this was the ideal place to spend much of their lives.
Prior to the first holiday visit my father and his two uncles Henry and Walter Olney had visited many Western Port sites from Tooradin to Pt Leo seeking the ideal location to fish and for Henry and Walter to live.
About 1922-24 the family helped establish a track beside East Creek which has remained the entrance to the beach ever since.
My father, Arthur Olney then applied and received a 99-year lease for a quarter acre from the State Government. In 1927 he built a boat shed at East Creek.
The Shack and track down to the beachfront.
My Uncles were professional fisherman. Their dwellings can be seen to the left of the Shack.
From my birth in 1927 my summer holidays have been spent at Pt Leo. From 1928 until 1967 my holidays centred around the “The Shack” as we called our Boat Shed.
Gwenda with her mother Doris Olney early 1930’s.
We slept in the camps we erected surrounding the shed. As time progressed our canvas camps were replaced by caravans built by my brothers Keith, Roy and Allan and later by my husband Bert. The cars also changed as can be seen in the photos below.
Camping around the Shack 1937-38.
Camping around the Shack 1950’s.
Christmas was always spent at Pt Leo. At the start it was just me and my three brothers. They soon had girlfriends then wives then families. We enjoyed many great holidays at and around the Shack.
We ate simple meals but never went hungry. Rabbits were plentiful in the area, fish was always on the menu and mushrooms in abundance seasonally.
Gwenda’s father Arthur Olney with garfish and rabbits.
As a small girl I remember to obtain supplies such as bread and other goods we walked to the Merricks Store. Milk was obtained from Crow’s dairy farm on the north west corner of Pt Leo Rd. and Main Rd. We needed to take our own containers to carry the milk.
Merricks Store circa 1960.
We walked everywhere. Milk was a two-mile (3.2km) return walk up Pt Leo Rd. The walk to Merricks Store was twice that distance across Miss Coles’ farm, now Pt Leo Estate. This entailed walking up the cliff on the north side of East Creek across the paddock to the wooded area, skirting what is now the Sculpture park at Pt Leo Estate. Sometimes we walked back the same way but often we walked back via the Main Rd to Pt Leo Rd. as it was mostly downhill. At that time Merricks Beach was known as Coles Beach.
Miss Coles’ house is now a staff cottage at Pt Leo Estate with a section modified to provide public toilets adjoining the magnificent sculpture park.
Around the late 1920’s my father’s two uncles Henry and Walter Olney, who also obtained 99-year leases, each built two room fisherman’s shanties at the base of the cliff behind our Shack. Uncle Henry held a professional fishing license, fishing and netting in a rowing boat. They each planted vegetable gardens and until around 1998 a large Plum tree and a Fig tree remained in the area.
The two uncles Fisherman’s homes; one can be seen left of the Shack. Circa 1937
Note the tents and camping arrangements, which would now be in the
centre of the asphalt car park at East Creek.
centre of the asphalt car park at East Creek.
Gwenda with her future sister in law Olive who married Roy Olney.
During the Second World War my Uncle’s houses were occupied then subsequently demolished by defence forces and the leases relinquished. The army placed barbed wire entanglements and installed gun emplacements on the Pt Leo headland. A cave was built under the gun emplacement and remained in an eroded form until the early 1960’s. My boys played in the area from time to time.
The war meant the early life style for our families at Pt Leo was over. Fortunately, we were able to retain the boat shed.
Early Photo of Surf Beach and sand dunes,
note lack of vegetation and wooded stumps where a jetty once stood.
After the war, holidays quickly resumed, I was married in 1948 to Bert Owens who was very keen on fishing and shared my love of Pt Leo.
Bert and I together with our three children Colin, Douglas and Geoffrey continued to camp at Pt Leo. Many friends were made with our co-campers, wonderful times were had by all.
Holiday life was simple, swimming, sunbathing, sailing, fishing and at night card games. Beach walks to the surf beach or to Shoreham or Merricks happened every second day. We entertained ourselves and loved it. Eating out was rare. For a special event such as a birthday we would eat at the Periwinkle Golden fleece roadhouse at Shoreham. Ham steaks were popular.
Before mains water, water was obtained from a well located on the top of the cliff top to the left side of where Murray Drive meets Western Parade. From the 50’s we would get regular deliveries from the butcher, baker and the ice man. Ice blocks were essential for our coolers.
Picture taken 1954 shows Point Leo Point (headland) to the south,
and the point at the centre of the photo with a low tree is where the fresh water well was located.
Gwenda with eldest son Colin.
Throughout the 50’s Christmas in the Shack was shared with my brothers Keith and Roy and their families. Allan and his family had moved to Sydney.
Christmas lunch was a big effort as the combined families were quite large and to get everyone seated around the home-made table on trestle seats was difficult. My mother cooked for everyone on the old cast iron wood stove in the boat shed. The old wood stove cooked most of our meals and heated the solid-state Irons used to iron clothes. The old table still exists in our current boat shed.
Fishing in the sea and in East Creek was enjoyed by the men with plentiful returns. Whiting, flathead, garfish and flounder were always available. Eels from East creek were regarded by some as a delicacy but by others, especially the children, as retched.
East Creek was regularly blocked by sand build up. It was always a great event when the creek blockage was dug out and let escape into the sea. The trench dug to about two spade widths and 20m long expanded to up to 5m wide of gushing water. At other times we would all swim and play in the creek as the water was always fresh and clear.
The Griffith family's boat shed roof can be seen to the extreme left.
The Griffith family's boat shed roof can be seen to the extreme left.
The Olney Shack to the right of photo on the bank of East Creek, Pt Leo in 1930s.
I lost my mother, Doris Olney in 1961. My father, Arthur Olney after living for many years in Fethers Rd Balnarring, between the Westernport Yacht Club and Merricks Creek moved north and settled in Hervey Bay Qld. He made the trip back, returning about Christmas each year until he could no longer do so, finally coming home in 1978 and passing away a few months later.
Our family’s association with Point Leo includes my cousin Nancy Heath who resided in the house on the corner of Pt Leo Rd and Western Parade which is now owned by Simon Trigger of Trigger Bros Surfing. She had previously lived in a home built by my father around 1936 before moving to the corner residence.
A fire which raged across the open paddock which is now the powered caravan park unfortunately contributed and led to her death.
My Mother was a cousin to Joyce and Cyril Smith who lived in Western Parade, Pt. Leo, their residence was named Bali Hi.
Lotti Woods opened and ran the General Store from where many campers were able to get core grocery items and other miscellaneous perishables, which was very much appreciated by the camping fraternity. I am unsure when the store opened, but think it was around 1960. Lottie sold the store and moved to Queensland.
At the request of the Foreshore Committee, in 1967 the old Shack was demolished to make way for a turntable and car park to enable better public access. This part of the beach (East Creek) had become very popular. The family was given permission to establish a boat shed at the other end of the camping area, and was allocated what is now camp-site 1.
Our new boat shed (Shack) with caravan and annex on Camp site 1 (Circa 1970).
My grand-daughter Cheryl is on the catamaran.
At this time our lives were changing, in the early 60’s my two brothers Keith and Roy who had always holidayed with their families at Pt Leo built nearby holiday houses, Keith at Balnarring and Roy at Shoreham.
Roy’s house in Howard St Shoreham was the first built on the estate in the area known as New Shoreham where Olney House is located. 60 years later Roy’s house still remains in the family.
As my brothers’ interest in the “Shack” waned, Bert and I took over. Colin our eldest son is now responsible for the Shack (boat shed). He has inherited our adoration for Point Leo.
In 1976 a major weather event occurred. After several days of severe west to south west winds and huge seas, erosion caused massive havoc to our beach. Tons of sand disappeared; many shrubby trees just fell into the water and were washed away.
The family filling sand bags to prevent the shack from being undermined in 1976.
The family filling sand bags to prevent the shack from being undermined in 1976.
More than sand bags were required to save our shack and foreshore land,
as that whole recreational and camping area was far too valuable to see it disappear.
Ports and Harbours decided to construct a rock wall to save the area. The swiftness of the erosion was unbelievable.
My father on viewing the wall said “the sand will return”, I remarked “never”!
My father was adamant the sand would return. He said erosion was cyclical influenced by weather, sand movement and tides; that sand will continue to move and create fresh erosion in one area while relocating sand to other areas. He said it has always happened and always will; that the many modern day, so called, man-made impacts were theories which did not take account of history.
He was right. Today the rock wall is covered with sand build up and the surf beach is eroding. Of the 22 steps in the stairs down the rock wall to the beach (photo below) only 5 are now visible.
In 1994 after another bout of high winds and huge seas the Shack was threatened again the seas taking large rocks from the wall, how mighty the power of the water.
It was amazing to see the camping area covered with the smaller back fill rocks that were 15cm and larger, originally placed behind the wall, now littering the area. Once again the wall required massive maintenance.
Post and rail and second Rock wall in place following repairs in 1994.
Erosion caused by the 1994 storm.
Rocks littering the camping area.
In all my 90 years plus at Pt. Leo the story of the erosion was the most dramatic.
I must mention that in the early days the cliffs in this area including along East creek were mostly bare, with very little vegetation. It is very different now, plenty of trees have been planted and the cliffs and surrounding areas are covered with vegetation.
In the early 1980’s my second son Doug chose to holiday with his family at Shoreham. Getting a suitable site at Pt Leo was nigh on impossible. Close to Pt Leo the quiet, natural setting of Shoreham was appealing. A leisurely or brisk walk between the two camping grounds became the norm with Doug and Mary’s children spending much time at the Pt Leo Surf Life Saving Club.
The family friendly Shoreham experience has been great for Doug’s family with lifelong friendships formed. A mirror image of my Pt Leo days.
Point Leo Surf Beach with Life Saving Club in the background. circa 1984.
Gwenda’s husband Bert with good friend and fellow camper Bob Schreiber.
The sand begins to return at East Creek. photo 1996.
The sand continues to return and foreshore grasses are established 2012.
Photo looking towards Merricks 2016.
East Creek spit 2016
Our family continues to camp and holiday at East creek, Pt Leo and Shoreham. Me, my bones are not what they once were and I leave this beautiful camping experience at Pt Leo and Shoreham to my sons, their wives, children and their children’s children, my great grandchildren. I know their love for the area is strong.
Recently the family purchased a property at 24 Pine Grove Shoreham. I am proud they have called the property Olney House. I know my parents who started the Pt Leo/Shoreham experience would be equally proud.
I acknowledge and give credit to the work of Gwenda Owens (with the help of her son Doug). I have enjoyed reading this piece of history. I married into the Olney family in 1964 and have fond memories of camping with the Olneys at Pt Leo from 1960.
If you wish to contact me, please email me at joyolney@gmail.com
Should you wish to stay at Olney House you can book a holiday through Home Away/stayz
https://www.homeaway.com.au/holiday-rental/p7690764
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