Australind’s early settlers in line for street honours

Harvey Shire Council will look to honour Australind’s early settlers through street names as the town’s 175th anniversary approaches.

The council agreed to submit 26 potential street names, which are the surnames of passengers from ships that arrived at Australind in the early 1840s, to the Geographic Names Committee.

From there, the names will be added to the council’s Reserved Road Names Register for potential use.

The council’s decision comes as the Australind Family History Society is organising a morning tea to mark 175 years since the town was settled.

It will be held at the historic Alverstoke Farm in Brunswick on April 2, which was originally the home of prominent early settler Marshall Waller Clifton.

Society volunteer Chris Riley has been involved in the celebration’s planning and said there had already been strong interest from descendants of settlers.

“Much of the South West is made up of descendants and we even have one lady coming from Melbourne,” Mrs Riley said.

“Most families have done their own family history and this is very important to them.”

Capacity will be limited to 200 people for the morning tea, which will also include the planting of a tree and a talk by Mary Clifton, a descendant who lives at the farm.

Mrs Riley said it was expected to be bigger than the 170th anniversary celebrations, which attracted about 90 people through word-of-mouth.

The society is also compiling a small biography on every person who came off the Island Queen, Diadem and Trusty ships and aims to put these into a book.

The morning tea, which costs $15, will begin at 9.30am and registrations can be made by contacting the society.