Ruins of the Black Swan Hotel at Barfold, Victoria. Picture by Dave Callaway

However, a brief visit today yielded an interesting snippet regarding my great-great grandparents James and Sarah Evans.

I knew from Shire of Metcalfe rate books they owned a property at Barfold in Central Victoria between 1866 and 1876. I also knew that James was at various times a farmer, road building contractor and publican.

Everyone knows that running a pub isn’t easy, as this report from The Argus newspaper in Melbourne on January 24, 1872 confirms:

“A drunken and fatal brawl,” reports the Kyneton Observer, “took place on Sunday afternoon, at Barfold. Two men in a state of stupefaction commenced a quarrel at the house of an inkeeper named Evans. An argument arose between the deceased Thomas Corbin and a man named Isaac Simpson. Before any one could interpose, the two men were struggling in a small room off the bar. After sundry blows had been exchanged the deceased fell heavily to the ground, the accused falling on top of him. At this moment the landlord entered, and took Simpson by the collar and thrust him out. The deceased then called out, ‘Mrs. Evans, Mrs. Evans, I am a done man.’ He breathed heavily, rolled back his eyes, and died within a few minutes of the onset of the row.” At the inquest, a verdict of manslaughter was returned against Simpson, who was then committed for trial.

I searched for the trial report, but couldn’t find one. Unfortunately the Kyneton Observer hasn’t been digitised yet.

I might check the inquest file one day at the Public Record Office.

Note: The picture above is published courtesy of Dave Callaway. It is believed to be the ruins of the Black Swan Hotel at Barfold. I don’t know if that’s the building where the fatal brawl occurred.

I used to like playing along the creek’s banks when I was a kid. It was pretty rough in those days (70s) with lots of blackberries, but in the town at least it has been pretty well cleaned up today.

The creek used to flood significantly as well, but mitigation works have eased the threat.

This week, the water had largely subsided by the time I visited again.

Funded by Public Record Office and presented by the Royal Historical Society, the awards recognise the contributions made by Victorians to the preservation of the state’s heritage.

The awards seek to encourage work that contributes to the development and appreciation of the history of Victoria and to develop awareness of best practice community history.

Local histories are the detail that underpins the grand narrative of Victorian history.

“Community history is important because this is where the love of history, the understanding of the power of history, begins,” Royal Historical Society president Andrew Lemon said.

Entries are judged on content and presentation with a view to encouraging innovative ways of recording community history across the state.

For more information and to apply visit www.historyvictoria.org.au, email historyawards@gmail.com or call project officer Janice Haynes on 0437 837 019.

I noted “the place name of his birth does not survive on maps today, but is situated near Echuca”.

That was before the internet truly developed as a research tool. Today, although there is not much on the web regarding Pannoomilloo, there is enough to identify its location and some of its history.

In particular, I recommend the National Library of Australia digitised newspapers and the Victoria Government Gazette.

The Government Gazette informed me that Pannoomilloo is near Diggora, west of Rochester, and the local school was removed in 1935.

The Argus newspaper carried other snippets, including a push for a railway siding, polling booth results from various elections and cricket scores.

Although the name of Pannoomilloo may not be widely used today, I now know where it is and have some impression of its character as a farming district.

I’m old enough to remember when Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister. I never agreed with him much at the time and that hasn’t changed. I think of Fraser as Mugabe’s mate.

Jeff Kennett tore the guts out of country Victoria. His forced amalgamation of councils ripped the heart and soul from many towns.

Funnily enough, as Hawthorn Football Club president he sometimes makes sense.

Even when he doesn’t make sense, it’s refreshing to see someone with his authority tackle the AFL orthodoxy; the latest example being the Ricky Nixon fiasco.

Kennett has said Nixon should be stripped of his player agent accreditation. He said he was dumbfounded at Nixon’s apparent relationship with the 17-year-old girl at the centre of an ongoing controversy.

“I was incredulous, I thought it couldn’t be true, you couldn’t be that stupid and I guess I’m a bit disappointed in the AFL not coming out very strongly at the time,” Kennett told Radio 3AW.

Spot on.

I’m interested to see how my former journalist colleague at the Bairnsdale Advertiser, Tim Bull, goes for the Nationals in Gippsland East against independent Craig Ingram.

Not much has changed. They are still wonderful places to visit.

This time we also went to Walkabout Apiaries, where they offer honey tasting and sales.

Unfortunately we followed a bus load of elderly tourists into the cheese factory and mustard store, so it was nice to find ourselves alone at the honey farm.

The owner gave us a description and tasting of about six different honey varieties.

It was a revelation to me, having only eaten mass-produced supermarket honey before today.

It makes sense that honey will taste different depending on the pollen of the tree.

We bought 2.5kg of honey! The varieties are River Redgum, Orange Blossom and Chestnut.

The chestnut honey isn’t sweet.

We also bought some honeycomb. It’s claimed to be beneficial as an anti allergen.

I read a scientific report at work before going on holiday that honey has been proved as good for the digestive system. It produces “good” bacteria, apparently.

First stop in Beechworth was the Murray Breweries cordial factory.

The brewery (pictured) was built in 1865 at the height of the gold rush. The original owner was George Billson, hence the name on the building Billsons Brewery, however over the next 50 years it underwent a number of name changes until 1916 when the current name of Murray Breweries was established.

The site was chosen because a natural spring occurred there.

Beer production ceased during the 1920s due to the intervention of a temperance group, although stout continued to be made for another 30 years. It was at this time a soft drink and cordial factory was opened.

Today the “brewery” specialises in 19th century cordial mixers of long-forgotten flavors made to traditional recipes and methods.

The flavors we bought were Sarsaparilla, Portello, Lime and Coconut, and Lemon Lime and Bitter.

The site also includes a carriage museum. The 19th century hearse is worth a look.

Next stop was Beechworth Gold, which my wallet would like me to forget.

The Beechworth Sweet Company is a huge lolly shop and it was absolute mayhem inside with kids everywhere.

Maggie said afterwards she nearly got “trapped”. That must be every child’s nightmare, being locked in a lolly shop.

Beechworth is one of the few country towns to retain its historic facades. So many other places knocked them down as part of an ugly modernisation from the 1950s onwards.

The Beechworth Courthouse

Beechworth Post Office

Lake Buffalo is a Goulburn Murray Water storage on the Buffalo River, 24km south of Myrtleford. It lies at the foot of the western slope of Mount Buffalo National Park, and is a popular fishing, water skiing and picnicking venue.

Lake Buffalo was originally planned as a two-stage project. Stage one involved the construction of a 31 metre high and 600 metre long earth and rockfill embankment, with a gated primary spillway and outlet works located within the dam wall. This structure was completed in 1965, and created a storage with a capacity of almost 24,000 megalitres.

It doesn’t say on the official website, but I guess stage two never went ahead. There has been talk of expansion over the years, but nothing has come of it.

The water stored in Lake Buffalo is used to supplement flows in the Ovens River for irrigation and urban water supply. The dam initially supplied a thriving tobacco industry in the valley, however this has now changed to numerous vineyards.

The Federal Government bought out the tobacco industry, partly to end the infiltration of organised crime and tax avoidance through the manufacture of illegal chop chop.

The capacity of the storage represents only six percent of the mean annual flow in the Buffalo River.

When I was editor of the Myrtleford Times there was always talk of Lake Buffalo’s development potential for tourism.

It’s definitely an underrated site in that regard. I suspect Goulburn Murray Water is happy to keep it that way.

The facilities are a little rundown, but at least there are toilets available if you need them. The grassy bank hadn’t been mowed for a while, despite this being the peak of the January tourist season.

There were only eight or nine families there today and two boats on the lake, that we could see.

It is a lovely spot on a hot day.

In fact I would be describing the Victorian Country Party, which was the dominant parliamentary power in that state for three decades last century.

I’ve been reading “The Victorian Premiers: 1856-2006″ (Federation Press 2006) edited by Paul Strangio and Brian Costar.

I bought the book because I was interested to learn more about the dynamics that existed between the Labor and Country parties during that period.

Some facts were confirmed:

• A minority Country Party government ruled with Labor support.
• Albert Dunstan was one of Victoria’s longest-serving premiers.
• Former Labor premier Ned Hogan became a Country Party minister.
• Henry Bolte and the Liberals hated the Country Party and plotted its downfall.

Some facts I did not know:

• The Country Party supported a minority Labor Goverment (George Prendergast, 1924).
• John Wren was considered influential in securing Labor support in parliament for the Country Party.
• John Allan was Australia’s first Country Party premier (1924).
• Ned Hogan (a Catholic) was the victim of a sectarian campaign by Labor to unseat him from parliament.
• Albert Dunstan was a dud premier.

Why does any of this matter?

If you’re interested in rural politics, as I am, the National Party’s decline is worth analysing.

Many people have said decline was an inevitable result of demographic change. In my view the reasons are much deeper than that.

The revival of the WA Nationals has many parallels with Victoria from 1920-52, a period in which there was never a majority government.

Brian Costar explains in his chapter on John Allan, the Victorian Country Party derived from the Victorian Farmers Union (VFU).

The VFU was split between the “conservatives” in Gippsland and the North East, and the “radicals” in the Mallee and Wimmera, most of whom were soldier settlers. The Western District was tory (Nationalist/Liberal).

The Country Party (CP) almost self destructed and actually split over whether to form coalitions with anyone.

At various times there was a minority Nationalist government with CP support, CP governments with Nationalist and Labor support (not at the same time) and a Labor government with CP support.

Governments were never elected on polling day; they were formed in a fluid parliament.

Ultimately there was some stability when Sir Albert Dunstan (CP) ruled from 1935-45, which was a remarkable political achievement given the circumstances.

Costar describes Sir Albert (pictured) as a “virtuoso of procrastination”.

Sadly, his low-taxing regime caused Victoria significant problems when the Commonwealth took over income taxing powers.

The formula used to determine allocations to the states was based on their revenue collections in 1941-42. Because Victoria didn’t collect much tax, it didn’t receive much in disbursements and this problem continued for decades.

The final Country Party government in Victoria (John McDonald 1950-52) was more progressive and reformist, largely because Labor attached conditions to its parliamentary support, which were honored.

These included amendments to the Factory and Shops Act, attempts to establish a Greater Melbourne Council, and the creation of the Gas and Fuel Corporation, Mental Hygiene Authority and Milk Board.

McDonald also expanded the Eildon Weir, which he considered his greatest achievement.

Labor withdrew its parliamentary support over the government’s reluctance to implement electoral reform.

Malapportionment was responsible for the Country Party’s strength. At one stage 39 rural votes were equivalent to 100 city votes.

Victoria’s first majority Labor government (John Cain snr 1952-55) ended the electoral weighting. The Liberal Party renamed itself the Liberal and Country Party, attracted CP defectors and ruled for many years under authoritarian premier Henry Bolte.

The Country Party stayed on the cross benches and never returned to executive power until the Nationals joined Jeff Kennett’s majority Liberal government in 1992.

The author of Kennett’s chapter, Nick Economou, writes: “The effect (of coalition) was to marginalise the influence of the National Party, which in retrospect was to have great significance to the eventual fate of the government”.

He’s alluding to the rural backlash Kennett and Pat McNamara suffered in 1999.

The alliance between the WA Nationals and Liberals, forged after the 2008 election, was described in some quarters as groundbreaking. Likewise, the switch of Vince Catania from Labor to the Nationals was considered unprecedented.

However, the McDonald Country Party government bears a strong resemblance to what happened in WA. The main difference is the alliance partner in that case (Labor) did not seek ministries.

McDonald was able to form government on the basis that he agreed to implement particular Labor policies.

Looking at other states, I don’t believe there was ever wheeling and dealing between the Labor and Country parties as there was in Victoria.

The Victorian CP was always hostile toward the Liberals until McNamara and Allan Brown formed a coalition in opposition. Indeed, John McEwen was expelled from the CP at one time for supporting a coalition in Canberra.

So why did the Nationals decline?

I believe people failed to differentiate between the Liberals and Nationals, especially in areas where the Nationals lost representation, which frequently occurred when a sitting member retired (eg Murray and Farrer).

The Nationals should quit the coalition every time they’re in opposition. That time is an opportunity to rejuvenate and articulate policies.

The Nationals should also be prepared to deal with Labor.

To her credit, Karlene Maywald broke the mould when she supported a minority Labor government in South Australia (2004).

The historical experience in Victoria shows a regional party can be successful if it’s prepared to engage with Labor in the parliament.

The WA Nationals rediscovered that formula last year, and although they ultimately aligned with the Liberals, the serious prospect of a deal with Labor prompted concessions from Colin Barnett.

The Federal Nationals are making independent noises, albeit softly and I don’t think many people can hear them. The situation has been complicated by the merger in Queensland.

Peter Ryan’s coalition with the Liberals in Victoria was a backward step in my opinion.

Under a coalition agreement the Nationals have no hope of winning seats like Benambra and South West because they can’t contest them.

I suspect the coalition was formed partly to save money. The Nationals had to run in a lot more seats in 2006 to garner votes for the upper house.

New South Wales is the sleeper. A stable coalition has always existed there and the Nationals have mostly protected their traditional territory, so brand recognition is not such a big issue.

If the Liberals push into the north coast the Nationals may have to become more independent to survive.

They could do well to learn from their own history.

• Disclaimer: I am a former state secretary and state president of the Victorian Young Nationals (1985-86).