S is for Sebastapol school records

One day I was browsing the resources of the Ballarat Archives Centre and came across some microfiche prepared by the Ballarat and District Genealogical Society, the  Ballarat and District School Students Registers - Consolidated Index 1864-1963 (BDGS).

I checked for my husband's father. He was listed and I learned something that I hadn't known. He had moved schools and addresses while living in Ballarat as a child.

Ernest Young was born on 8 July 1920 in Melbourne to Elizabeth Young née Cross and Cecil Young. Ernest was always known as Peter. His parents separated and Peter and his mother lived with her parents, Frederick James Cross and Ann Jane née Plowright.

Peter Young aged about seven.

The Cross family lived at Homebush near Avoca for many years. In the early 1920s Frederick James Cross sold his property there and the family moved to Sebastopol near Ballarat. They lived on the corner of Grant and Victoria Streets. The house is still there.

Peter outside the Cross house on the corner of Grant and Victoria Streets, Sebastopol.

The house on the corner of Grant and Victoria Streets where Peter Young lived with his mother and grandparents. Photographed May 2014.

The Sebastopol Primary School records are held by the Sebastopol & District Historical Society, housed in the old Sebastopol school building. The Society is open on the first Sunday of each month from 2 to 4 in the afternoon.

The old building of the Sebastopol State School now houses the Sebastopol & District Historical Society. Photographed May 2014.

Ernest Young started school at Sebastopol on 3 June 1925, just over a month before his fifth birthday. His father, Cecil Young, was named as his parent. Cecil's occupation was given as labourer.

The school records show that Peter left Sebastopol to attend Urquart Street school in Ballarat in December 1929.

Peter's grandfather Frederick James Cross had died in May 1929 and the family moved house.

The Urquart Street School records indicate that he was living at 419 Ascot Street and that he left in December 1931 to go to Melbourne.

Peter's grandmother died in November 1930. It seems that another upheaval in his living arrangements followed.

Urquhart Street SS No 2013 - Vision and Realisation Vol 2. from Ballarat & District Genealogical Society Resources - Ballarat Schools

The former Urquart Street School photographed May 2014

The house at 419 Ascot Street Ballarat photographed May 2014

I don't know where Peter went to school in Melbourne. His mother found work as a housekeeper there.

Further Reading

• Ballarat & District Genealogical Society Resources - Ballarat Schools

J is for James: James Curtis (1826--1901)

J is for James: James Curtis (1826--1901), a Ballarat pioneer and one of the city's more notable citizens.

James Curtis has no entry in the 'Australian Dictionary of Biography', but in his time he was moderately important and fairly well known in Ballarat and beyond for his contributions to---well, if you are one of those people (I was) who think the Victorians were stern, serious, and straight-laced, you'd never guess.

Curtis had joined in the first Ballarat gold rushes of 1851. He didn't find much---a tiny nugget the size of a pea---and he was £30 poorer for the attempt. He quickly abandoned gold-digging and returned to his trade, type-setting.

In the early 1860s Curtis established one of Ballarat's first printing presses, and by the 1870s, as proprietor of the Caxton Steam Printing Works in Armstrong Street, the city's second-largest printing house ('letterpress, lithographic, and copperplate printer, account book manufacturer, &c') he had become a wealthy and successful businessman.

Over the next few decades Curtis joined whole-heartedly in the commercial and civic life of Ballarat. He was a director of the Prince Regent and the Sebastopol Plateau gold mines; a member of the board of the Ballarat Land Mortgage & Agency Company Limited; a member of the Old Colonists' Association; a long-standing member of the boards of the Benevolent Asylum and the Ballarat District Orphan Asylum; the Treasurer of the Harmonic Society, Ballarat's choir; a founding member of the Ballarat Debating Club; a patron of the arts; a chess enthusiast; and a well-known cyclist and tricyclist.

In short, Curtis became a successful businessman and a prominent and respectable Ballarat citizen, who 'for many years identified himself with the progress of the `Golden City''.

James Curtis, however, had a side that was less conventional. In the late 1870s he began to believe that we survive death, that 'death' was merely a change of state, a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis; discarnate spirits were, reassuringly, very much like us; and the world of the spirits was comfortably similar to the world we mortals presently inhabit. These were demonstrable facts, objectively true, backed by verifiable testimony from reliable witnesses, including Curtis himself.

And so Curtis became a Spiritualist. He joined a séance Circle, helped to convene a 'Psychological Society', whose aim was 'the proof of soul by facts', sought out the best and most powerful mediums in Melbourne, Sydney, and Hobart, sat with visiting American celebrity mediums---two of the most famous were Henry Slade and Jesse Shepard---and applied himself to spreading knowledge of what he had discovered. He had a printing works of his own; this he used to print pamphlets explaining spiritualism and opposing its detractors. He printed and published a 300-page book, called 'Rustlings in the Golden City' about his spiritual awakening. Well received in Ballarat and beyond, 'Rustlings' went through three editions.

None of this was too unusual. Spiritualism had quite a number of adherents in the second half of the nineteenth century, many of them cautious, well-educated, far from gullible, and outspoken in their advocacy of the glorious truths they had found about death and the afterlife.

Curtis's spiritualism was a little different, however, for much of it concerned his relations with a particular person, not just the broad concept of life after our translation to the next plane. When Curtis emigrated to Australia in 1849 he left his sweetheart Annie Beal behind in Southampton. He never saw her again, for she died of tuberculosis the next year. Curtis's writings are full of Annie, his joy at finding her still alive (in the world above) and his longing to be reunited with her. She loved him still, and wrote to him constantly, through mediums, to tell him so.

Curtis's love affair with his dead darling Annie was partly the product of his spiritualism, and his spiritualism was to some extent underwritten, shown to be true, by the fact of their continuing love for each other.

It's easy to sneer; let's just hope that they were indeed finally re-united forever, as they yearned to be, on his death in 1901.

A guest blog post written by my husband Greg.

C is for cremation

In Australia we usually dispose of a dead body by burial or burning: interment or cremation.

Cremation rates vary across the world. In Japan almost all bodies are cremated. Fewer than 10% of disposals in Italy are cremated. Just over 40% of the dead in the US are cremated.  ("Ashes to Ashes." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 31 Oct. 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. <http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2012/10/daily-chart-16>.) ("Disposing of the Dead - Cremation." Australian Museum, 12 Jan. 2010. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <http://australianmuseum.net.au/Disposing-of-the-dead-Cremation/>.)

In some areas Indigenous Australians buried their dead and in other areas they cremated their dead. (Australian Museum ibid. ) The history of modern Australian cremation followed trends in Britain, Europe and the United States from the 1870s. (Cremation. (2014, March 30). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10:00, April 2, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cremation&oldid=601906525)

Today in Australia about half of those who die each year are cremated. In the cities it is just over two-thirds. There are about 145,000 deaths each year in Australia and that is expected to rise to about 160,000 by 2019. A cremation costs from about $600, whereas a burial, in Sydney, can cost more than ten times this figure. (Evans, Simon. "Cremation Favoured in Tough Economy." Financial Review. Australian Financial Review, 4 Sept. 2013. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <http://www.afr.com/p/business/companies/cremation_favoured_in_tough_economy_Uh4ynSvpzwzkRIZbOdlxyH>.)

The first crematorium in Australia (and in the Southern Hemisphere) was built in Adelaide in 1903 at West Terrace cemetery. In 1891 South Australia had been the first Australian state to legalise cremation. The crematorium operated until 1959 and was demolished ten years later. ("Crematorium." West Terrace Cemetery History. Adelaide Cemeteries Authority, n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <http://www.aca.sa.gov.au/OurCemeteries/WestTerraceCemeteryHistory/Crematorium.aspx>.)

Crematorium, Adelaide, South Australia. , 1919.Image retrieved through Trove from State Library of New South Wales, digital order number d1_13488,  from http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/36913995

The Cremation Society of New South Wales was formed in 1908 but it wasn't until the 1920s that land was set aside at Sydney's Rookwood cemetery for Australia's second crematorium. Another crematorium opened in the northern suburbs of Sydney in the 1930s. ("The Development of Rookwood Cemetery." About Rookwood Cemetery. Rookwood General Cemetery Trust, 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <http://www.rookwoodcemetery.com.au/index.php/about-rookwood/history-of-rookwood/the-development-of-rookwood-cemetery>.) ("Our History." About Us. Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <http://www.northernsuburbscrem.com.au/en/AboutUs/OurHistory/OurHistory.aspx>.

In Victoria, the Fawkner cemetery in Melbourne established a crematorium in 1927 and Springvale Necropolis opened a crematorium in the 1930s. The first cremation at Springvale was in April 1905. A crematorium at Ballarat was opened in March 1958. (CREMATION. (1905, April 14). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 5. Retrieved January 11, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9885398) ("Our History." About Our Cemetery. Springvale Botanical Cemetery, n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <https://sbc.smct.org.au/our-history/>.) (Ayton, Gary. "History of Cremation." My Brief History of the World [Gary Ayton's Photography Wiki]. Gary Ayton, 28 Mar. 2008. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <http://www.ayton.id.au/gary/History/H_cremation.htm>.) (Wickham, Dorothy, and Peter Butters. The Silent City: A History of Ballaarat General Cemeteries. Ballarat, Vic.: Ballarat Heritage Services, 2006. pages 30-35.)

Ballarat's first non-indigenous cremation was of an Indian man called Casa Singh on 12 May 1932. The cremation was held at Ballarat Common and supervised by the City Heath Authority.

HINDU CREMATED. (1932, May 13). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 10. Retrieved April 2, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4451726

When my husband's grandmother died in 1949 in Ballarat she was cremated at Fawkner.  I am not sure why and there is nobody left to ask. Other members of her family are buried in a pretty cemetery near Ballarat at Carngham and I am surprised she is not buried there with them. Cremation in Melbourne, more than 100 km away, would have been more expensive than burial at that time. Perhaps cremation was something she had expressed a wish for.

If I look at my family tree and who was buried and cremated I have:

• my husband's parents were buried (died 1988 and 2007)
• both my paternal grandparents were cremated (died 1966 and 2013), my maternal grandparents were buried (died 1988 and 1992), my husband's paternal grandparents were cremated (they were separated so it was not a joint decision) (died 1949 and 1975), my husband's maternal grandparents are both buried (both died 1975)
• three of my four paternal great grandparents were cremated (two died 1951 and the other 1952), the remainder of that generation and previous generations are buried.

I haven't had time to compile statistics for Australia before publishing this blog. The statistics I have seen indicate that cremations in Australia only increased in number in the 1940s.

 

Saving Graves 

Saving Graves is an initiative on Facebook in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia - each state facing different issues. There is also a web page on the Australian Cemeteries website. My particular interest is Victoria.  Recently I have been in contact with Lambis Englezos who is concerned about the preservation of graves of World war 1 veterans.  I knew of Lambis and more particularly of the work of his colleagues Sandra Playle and Tim Lycett, as my husband's great uncle, Leslie Leister, was one of the Australian soldiers buried in a mass grave at Fromelles.

In Victoria many cremation memorials are not permanent.  There was a period when one could not acquire a permanent memorial for those who had been cremated; in many cemeteries the space for the plaque was only leased for 25 years.

While the Victorian Government confirmed last year that burials in Victorian cemeteries will continue to be perpetual (the graves won't be reused), memorials for those who have been cremated are unfortunately not always perpetual. For a number of years, families could not a perpetual memorial for a family member if that person was cremated.

At Fawkner Cemetery all memorials for those who had been cremated between 1984 and 2005 were for limited tenure. From 2009 some memorials began to expire. For a fee these can be converted. In 2011 the fee was $752 for two memorials. Many memorials will not be converted as family may be unaware of the expiry or not have the money to convert perhaps multiple memorials. At Springvale Cemetery, limited tenure began in 1955 and all memorials from 1976 to 1998 were for limited tenure. These are two major cemeteries which are removing expired memorials but they are not the only memorial parks affected. Ballarat also removes memorials where the lease has expired.

Memorial plaque at Springvale tagged to show it will be removed as tenure has expired.

Thousands of memorials are affected such as the one pictured, at Springvale. The process is for the cemetery to notify the family or whoever holds the right of interment. Also an orange sticker is placed on the memorial in some memorial parks. Once the notification period has expired, the memorial is removed. There are many people who did not have the opportunity to be remembered permanently because only temporary memorials were available.

While the Victorian State Government authority responsible for cemeteries states that  "Victoria has a proud tradition of caring for its forebears in a system of public cemeteries," I would like to see this encompass those who were cremated, especially where families did not have the option to purchase the right to a permanent memorial.

The Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies has an excellent initiative to photograph and index expired tenure plaques at Springvale.

A is for Avenue of Honour

Entrance to Avenue of Honour, 14 miles long, the Lucas Girls tribute to Ballarat soldiers Image of postcard published by Rose Stereographs from State Library of New South Wales retrieved from http://143.119.202.10/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=69960 9 March 2014

Avenues of Honour planted during and after World War I are an Australian innovation. The avenue at Ballarat was one of the first.

The young women employees of a Ballarat clothing firm, Lucas and Company, planted a tree for every soldier who left Ballarat to serve in the Great War. The avenue runs from the city westerly for 14 miles (over 20 kilometers). The first 505 trees were planted in June 1917.

3,900 trees altogether were planted. The Lucas girls also raised funds for an Arch of Victory at the beginning of the avenue.  The Arch was opened by the Prince of Wales on 2 June 1920.

"AVENUE OF HONOR.". (1917, June 5). Warrnambool Standard(Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 4 Edition: DAILY.. Retrieved January 19, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article73930919

The Argus reported the opening of the Arch of Victory: REST FOR THE PRINCE. (1920, June 3). The Argus(Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 7. at http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1707916 

Several years later the Argus wrote a feature article on the avenue:  BALLARAT'S AVENUE OF HONOUR. (1922, April 15). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 5. at http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4665883

The names of the 3,900 men for whom trees were planted can be found through https://bih.federation.edu.au/index.php/Ballarat_Avenue_of_Honour

One of the men was Alan Lawrie who is pictured standing next to his tree.

Mrs C Chisholm (Creator) Negative - Alan Lawrie Standing Next to his Tree in the Avenue of Honour, Ballarat, Victoria, pre 1925. Museum Victoria. Reg. No: MM 001068 retrieved from http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/items/768849/negative-alan-lawrie-standing-next-to-his-tree-in-the-avenue-of-honour-ballarat-victoria-pre-1925

 Roderick Allen Lawrie enlisted in March 1915 aged 20 years with the permission of his mother.  He was a draper's assistant. (National Archives of Australia Series B2455; LAWRIE Roderick Allan : Service Number - 3169 : Place of Birth - Ballarat VIC : Place of Enlistment - Ballarat VIC : Next of Kin - (Mother) LAWRIE Alice. Digital copy of dossier at http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/Imagine.asp?B=7377828)

Associated with the centenary of World War I, there is a project to preserve and restore the avenues across Australia: http://www.avenuesofhonour.org/ 

My husband's grandfather Cecil Young and Cecil's brother Jack have their names listed on a plaque with a small avenue of eucalypts planted in the grounds of the former school of Lower Homebush near Avoca in Victoria.

The Avenue of Honour at the Lower Homebush school

The Homebush Honor Roll at the beginning of the Avenue of Honour at Lower Homebush school

At Avoca nearby, an avenue was planted, but most of the trees have died . There presumably was a list of the men who were commemorated but I don't know where that list is.

One of my favourite avenues is at Bacchus Marsh. It was planted in 1918 and is of Dutch elms. 281 trees were planted simultaneously on the afternoon of 10 August following the blowing of a bugle. The avenue extends for nearly two miles on the road towards Melbourne. In 2004 there were 312 trees and 48 vacant sites. A list of the names of the soldiers can be found at http://www.bacchusmarsh.avenueofhonour.org.au . On 28 May 2010, The Age reported on a plan to build a roundabout in the avenue and opposition to the proposal. For the time being the avenue is  intact. http://www.theage.com.au/national/a-matter-of-honour-20100527-whtb.html The avenue is listed on the Victorian heritage register http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/#detail_places;4957

Avenue of Honour in Bacchus March By Wcwu (Self-photographed) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Avenue_of_Honour_in_Bacchus_Marsh.jpg

52 Weeks of Genealogical Records in 2014 – Week 4 Memorial Cards

Four weeks ago, the archivist and historian Shauna Hicks (http://www.shaunahicks.com.au) started a series of blog posts about genealogical records. There's to be one post each week this year.  I am a bit late to the party, but now I'm joining in.

This week Shauna wrote about Memorial Cards (http://www.shaunahicks.com.au/52-weeks-of-genealogical-records-in-2014-week-4-memorial-cards/).

I have only one Memorial Card, purchased from Lenore Frost's 'Photo Rescue!', a service intended to 're-unite orphaned photos [and cards] with their lost families'. (http://members.optushome.com.au/lenorefrost/prnews.html)

n 1854 Margaret Smyth, who became Margaret Plowright, arrived in Melbourne from Southampton on the Persian. She was twenty years old from County Cavan. During the passage to Australia, she gave birth to a boy, and when she arrived she first stayed with a cousin called John Hente. At least the surname looks like 'Hente' on the Assisted Migrant record; but the writing is hard to read and I have no other information about him. I would be grateful for any suggestions.

Microfiche copy of Register of Assisted Immigrants from United Kingdom 1839 – 1871 - See more at: http://prov.vic.gov.au/provguide-50#sthash.Bo7PJjpY.dpuf

Microfiche copy of Register of Assisted Immigrants from United Kingdom 1839 – 1871 - See more at: http://prov.vic.gov.au/provguide-50#sthash.Bo7PJjpY.dpuf

From Public Record Office of Victoria VPRS 3502 Register of Assisted Migrants from the U.K. 1839 - 1871: 1854 list for the Persian Book 9 page 437

In November 1855 Margaret married John Plowright, a goldminer, at Magpie near Ballarat.  Their  marriage certificate describes her as a 22 year old dressmaker from County Cavan, whose parents were William Smyth, a farmer, and Mary Cox.


Margaret and John had seven children including one adopted child.  I can find no mention of the boy who was born on the Persian.


I have written previously on the marriage and children of Margaret and John.

On 5 March 1872 Margaret was admitted to the Maryborough Hospital.  According to the index of the hospital admission record, she was 37 years old, married, from Homebush, a Wesleyan, and she had arrived in the colony seventeen years previously on the Persian.

In 1897 at the age of 63 Margaret died at Homebush near Avoca. The death certificate has the cause of death as Brights Disease [kidney failure], dropsy [fluid retention] and exhaustion.  She was buried in Avoca cemetery.

Sepia Saturday 194 : Eureka

This week's Sepia Saturday theme concerns sewing a flag and being from Ballarat I must talk about Eureka and it's flag.

The pictures below were painted by Charles Doudiet, a Canadian artist who was at the Eureka rebellion of November and December 1854.  His watercolour sketches made at the time of the rebellion were acquired by the Art Gallery of Ballarat in 1996. ("Doudiet, Charles Alphonse." Art Gallery of Ballarat. Art Gallery of Ballarat, 2010. Web. 14 Sept. 2013. <http://www.artgalleryofballarat.com.au/explore-and-experience/collection/australian-collection/doudiet,-charles-alphonse.aspx>.)

The flag was first flown at Bakery Hill at Ballarat on 29 November 1854 at a so-called "Monster Meeting" of 12,000 people.  The miners of Ballarat were protesting against the licensing system, their lack of voting rights, and the acquittal of a publican who they believed had murdered a young miner; this last incident being symptomatic of a corrupt bureaucracy.  They had sent a deputation to the governor but he had dismissed the charter from the miners.  This meeting was to hear back from the deputation that had met with the governor.

Swearing allegiance to the "Southern Cross"

The flag was next flown over a stockade at Eureka, Ballarat, which was built on 30 November. (Eureka is just over 2 kilometers or less than half an hour's walk from Bakery Hill). Very early on the morning of 3 December Government troops stormed the stockade and overpowered the 150 miners who were there at the time.  25 miners were killed, 100 were captured, 5 soldiers were killed.

Eureka Slaughter 3rd December

Miners were charged with treason but they were acquitted.  Laws were changed and the miners' grievances were dealt with.  The flag was used in evidence at the trials.


Mark Twain wrote in 1897:

"It was a revolution - small in size, but great politically; it was a strike against injustice and oppression...It is another instance of a victory won by a lost battle. It adds an honourable page to history; the people know it and are proud of it. They keep green the memory of the men who fell at the Eureka Stockade."("The Eureka Massacre." ConvictCreations.com. N.p., 2013. Web. 14 Sept. 2013. <http://www.convictcreations.com/history/eureka.htm>.)

 
The flag is big. It is 2.6 metres by 3.2 metres.  A common flag size is about 1 by 1.5 metres or 3 by 5 feet.  A flag 1.8 by 3 metres or 6 by 10 feet is considered very large and is suggested for a 40 foot flagpole. ("Standard Flag Sizes." Zephyr Direct. Zephyr Racing Pennants Ltd, 2013. Web. 13 Sept. 2013. <http://www.zephyr-flags.co.uk/direct/flag-resources-flag-sizes.php>.)  The Eureka Flag is said to have flown from a pole 80 feet tall. ("Eureka Flag." Eurekapedia. Ballarat Reform League Inc., 15 Aug. 2013. Web. 14 Sept. 2013. <http://eurekapedia.org/Eureka_Flag>.)

One of the best readily available articles on the history of the Eureka Flag is at http://www.egold.net.au/biogs/EG00273b.htm . (Beggs-Sunter, Anne. "The History of the Eureka Flag as a Cultural Heritage Icon."EGold - A Nation's Heritage. Cultural Heritage Unit, The University of Melbourne, 2010. Web. 13 Sept. 2013. <http://www.egold.net.au/biogs/EG00273b.htm>) The article talks about how the flag was rescued after the battle, how it came to be in the Art Gallery's collection, and about the souveniring from the flag.  Dr Beggs-Sunter also makes clear that the issue of who made the flag is not resolved.  The sewing of the flag is often attributed to three women who were wives of miners involved in the rebellion.

On Monday my son and I visited the new museum at the site of the Eureka rebellion to reacquaint ourselves with the flag which had moved from the Ballarat Art Gallery earlier this year on loan to the new museum. The flag has recently undergone conservation treatment. The flag is a wonderful thing to see live.  You can appreciate the different materials used and the fine stitching, as well as its size.

The flag has been said to be the most important European textile in Australia. (Burin, Margaret. "Eureka Flag Restored and Returned for Rebellion Anniversary." ABC Ballarat. Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2 Dec. 2011. Web. 14 Sept. 2013. <http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/12/02/3382099.htm>.) I certainly can't think of a more important European textile in Australia.

Inspired by this blogging prompt, I propose over the next few months to explore where my forebears were in November and December 1854 and what Eureka might have meant to them.  I know some of my husband's forebears were miners in the vicinity of Ballarat at the time but they are not named as taking part in the rebellion.  It is estimated that in 1854 there were 25,000 miners on the Ballarat goldfields.  

See also

 "Art Gallery of Ballarat." The Flag of the Southern Cross (Eureka Flag). Art Gallery of Ballarat, n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2013. <http://www.artgalleryofballarat.com.au/explore-and-experience/collection/australian-collection/the-flag-of-the-southern-cross-(eureka-flag).aspx>.

Wedding Wednesday: Philip Champion de Crespigny married Annie Frances Chauncy 25 October 1877

On Thursday 25 October 1877 Philip Champion de Crespigny (1850 - 1927) married Annie Frances Chauncy (1857 - 1883).

Family Notices. (1877, October 29). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 1. Retrieved September 3, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5942944

This photo of Annie Frances Chauncy was taken around the time of her wedding in 1877.

 The Ballarat Courier reported:

There was a good deal of commotion yesterday at St Paul's Church amongst the fair sex, the occasion being the marriage of Mr Philip Champion Crespigny, the eldest son of Mr Crespigny, P.M., of Ararat, to the eldest daughter of Mr Chauncy, district surveyor, of Ballarat. As the bride walked up the aisle, a voluntary was played on the organ, and after the conclusion of the ceremony the Wedding March was pealed forth. The happy couple left Ballarat for Melbourne on the afternoon train. (The Ballarat Courier 26 October 1877)

The Camperdown Chronicle also reported on the riotous proceedings:

BALLARAT. (1877, October 30). Camperdown Chronicle (Vic. : 1877 - 1954), p. 3 Edition: BI-WEEKLY. Retrieved September 3, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64012654

 I have no idea why the wedding should have caused such a stir or whether the spectators were known to the bride and groom.  Perhaps one day I will find some letter or diary reference that might shed some clues.