The Tankard family bought land from the Chaffey Brothers very early in the settlement of the Mildura colony. Twenty acres were purchased by Melbourne brewer Matthew Tankard JP for his son to develop and this land stayed in family hands for seven generations up until recent years. Matthew’s great great grandson Henry is our guest this week on the show to tell us about those early days and as we’ll hear, there were many hurdles facing those early settlers.
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The deed for the purchase of the Tankard land from the Chaffey Brothers
My mother’s grandparents, the Bound family (Abel and Bessie Bound) came to Mildura in 1897, walking with a bullock dray from Nhill. The Bounds had a block on The Crescent which Mum’s Uncle Tom and his wife Sarah ran.
Great stuff Ian . Great mind, fantastic memory, clear and coherent story – the real story of the irrigation settlement – warts and all. Can’t wait for further episodes and the book to come out. Keep writing, Henry.
Bob Walton