SCOUT: "Boo!" *Giggles.* "I surprised you Paddy!"
PADDY: "Oh Scout! You startled me! What are you doing up here anyway? We're going with Daddy into the cafe now. I didn't think you wanted to play hide-and-seek any more."
SCOUT: "Well, Daddy said that these were gourds, and they are aren't they?"
PADDY: "Yes Scout."
SCOUT: "And you said that gourds were edible didn't you Paddy?"
PADDY: "Yes I did Scout."
SCOUT: "So I decided to combine hide-and-seek and eating. I hid up here and ate some gourd whilst I wanted for you to find me!"
PADDY: "Oh Scout!"
SCOUT: "It's alright Paddy, I only ate some of the underside of this green gourd, so no-one will notice. Anyway, it tasted yucky and bitter, so I won't eat any more. Now let's go eat some real food!"
Paddy, Scout and I spent a delightful Saturday with the Famous Flickr Five+ Group in Blackwood at the Garden of St Erth. As our first Famous Flickr Five+ excursion, I was just delighted by how kind and welcoming everyone was to Paddy, Scout and myself. We look forward to trips to places we have never been before (such as the garden of St Erth) with the Famous Flickr Five+ Group in the future.
My Paddington Bear came to live with me in London when I was two years old (many, many years ago). He was hand made by my Great Aunt and he has a chocolate coloured felt hat, the brim of which had to be pinned up by a safety pin to stop it getting in his eyes. The collar of his Macintosh is made of the same felt. He wears wellington boots made from the same red leather used to make the toggles on his Macintosh.
He has travelled with me across the world and he and I have had many adventures together over the years. He is a very precious member of my small family.
Scout is a recent addition to our little family. He was a gift to Paddy from my friend. He is a Fair Trade Bear hand knitted in Africa. His name comes from the shop my friend found him in: Scout House. He tells me that life was very different where he came from, and Paddy is helping introduce him to many new experiences. Scout catches on quickly, and has proven to be a cheeky, but very lovable member of our closely knit family.
In 1854 a Cornish stonemason named Matthew Rogers decided to pursue his luck in the goldfields around Mount Blackwood in Victoria, so he packed up his life in Sydney and journeyed south. His venture proved successful, as he became one of the gold rush's most successful miners.
In the 1860s, Matthew built a modest sandstone cottage from stone quarried from around Bacchus Marsh behind a boot factory in an area known as Simmonds Reef, just outside what was then the very busy and thriving gold mining community of Blackwood which at the time had a population of some 13,000 people. He named it "St Erth" after his Cornwall birthplace. The original title was dated 1867, but it is believed the house was built before then.
The sandstone cottage is typical of Victorian architecture found in Australia at that time. Built in Victorian Georgian style. It features a symmetrical facade of exposed sandstone brick with sash windows either side of the front door, all of which are characteristics of Victorian Georgian architecture. The shady verandah, today covered in curling wisteria vine, features elegant, slender posts, which is also typical of the architectural style, as is the medium pitch corrugated iron roof.
Matthew attached a wooden building to the western end of his neat stone cottage which served as the Blackwood post office for a time, and also a general store; both essential parts of the burgeoning community.
The gold rush lasted for twenty eight years. Matthew's daughter Elizabeth and her husband Jim Terrill continued to maintain the store, but as gold ran out, the wooden buildings of the town were moved to Trentham. For a time the house lay empty and the bush moved back in. Eventually it was bought by a group of Melbourne businessmen who called themselves the Simmons Reef Shire Council.
Today, "St Erth" is the Garden of St Erth; a wonderful garden featuring fruit trees, an espalier orchard, heirloom vegetables, perennials, daffodils, tulips, flowering shrubs and a plant nursery. The Garden of St Erth is one of two main sites in Victoria for the Diggers Club, who specialise in growing and selling heirloom variety plants and old fashioned exotic plants. The homestead forms the entry to the beautiful garden, as well as a shop showcasing the heritage seeds, gardening equipment and myriad gardening products in line with the Diggers Club's commitment to sustainable gardening. Outside there's a plant nursery with a wonderful array of trees and plants for sale. A pretty cafe offers drinks, cakes and meals indoors or out featuring where possible local produce and some sourced from the garden.
Matthew Rogers was born at St. Erth, Cornwall, on 11th June 1824, he arrived in Victoria in 1854 with his wife Mary, and came to Blackwood about 1855. Matthew and Mary Rogers were the wealthiest people in Simmons Reef. Matthew did well from his mine called "Mount Rogers Big Hill Mine". He is stated to have made a fortune out of ore that yielded one and a half pennyweights to the ton. Mary Ann Rogers was born in Hayle in Cornwall 24th June 1828. She looked after the store and the Post Office attached to the house. The Rogers had no children, and adopted a girl born in 1872, called Elizabeth. Mary Ann Rogers died on the 27th of August 1896, aged 68 years. Matthew Rogers died on the 6th of January 1902.
Nestled against the Wombat State Forest, the township of Blackwood was originally founded in 1855 during the Victorian gold rush. The township's post office was opened in September 1855, and was known as Mount Blackwood until 1921. The township has shrunk significantly since the gold rush ended, and today many of its properties are weekenders for Melbourne professionals. The town still has a main street featuring a post office and general store, a pub, a cafe and an antique shop. It still retains some of its original miners cottages beyond "St Erth". It is a quiet, sleepy town, and is a delightful retreat for some peace and quiet. Blackwood is perhaps best known today for its music and culture festival held in November. It attracts artists from across the world.
