During his time in Hobart Town, William Robertson,
not to be confused with another William Robertson,1798-1874, http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A060051b.htm
who was part of the Port Phillip Association with
Batman, Fawkner and Wedge,
Batman, Fawkner and Wedge,
was encouraged by his friend John Pascoe Fawkner to go to the
Port Phillip District of the Colony of new South Wales
(later to be named Melbourne)
Port Phillip District of the Colony of new South Wales
(later to be named Melbourne)
to view the new settlement, which Fawkner considered offered
opportunities far greater than in what was then Van Diemen's Land.
In 1837, William ROBERTSON acting on that advice came to the
new settlement with the first land sales held on
1st June of that year
as shown on the following 1837 Plan of Melbourne.
Each block, as laid out by
Government Surveyor Robert Hoddle
was subdivided into 20 allotments each of
approximately half an acre (0.202 hectares)
Government Surveyor Robert Hoddle
Each purchaser was covenanted to erect a substantial building on the land within two years. All the land was sold and the more westerly the block, the more valuable the land. The lowest price was paid for the allotments on the north side of Collins Street, between Swanston Street and Elizabeth Street - an area later to be known as 'The Golden Mile' and the highest priced real estate in the land. The highest price was paid for the north-east corner of William Street and Collins Street.
While William Robertson was known to have been in the new settlement at the time of the First Land Sale, his name is not recorded as having purchased land at the sale. It was long thought that William ROBERTSON had purchased a block of land in Collins St near the north west corner of Collins and Elizabeth Streets from where he conducted a Tailoring and Drapery business.
This "thought" however is not supported by records of the first land sales held in Melbourne on 1st June 1837, as shown on the following 1837 Plan of Melbourne. However an interesting observation from the 1837 Plan shows an allotment in Little Collins St, between Swanston and Elizabeth St, registered in the name of JP Fawkner which was purchased for 20 Pounds.
Could it be that this is "the block of land" that William Robertson is thought to have purchased "near the north west corner of Collins and Elizabeth Streets" from where he conducted his Tailoring and Drapery business which he may have either leased or subsequently purchased from his friend John Pascoe Fawkner prior to his departure from Melbourne in 1839
The answer to this can be clearly seen on the following 1858 brochure of 1838 Melbourne entitled Melbourne Then and Now, courtesy Pamela (Hill) Eames, a fourth great grand daughter of William Robertson
The following extract (taken from the top right portion of the 1858 brochure) clearly shows that "Willie Robertson Tailor" conducted a Tailoring business situated at number 70 on the map on the north west corner of Collins between Elizabeth and Queen Sts. Lot 70 was purchased at the first land sale by T Browne £45.0.
However as there is no known record to confirm if William Robertson did at any time own or lease Lot 70, the Collins St location from where he conducted his tailoring business as per the following advertisement taken from the Port Phillip Gazette of Nov 6 1838, before departing Melbourne in 1839 to take up land near what is now Gisborne, it is reasonable to assume that owing to the shortness of his stay in Melbourne that he would have most likely leased the land for the duration of his two year stay.
The second sale of land took place on 1 November 1837. The boundary streets were: Swanston Street, Flinders Street, Elizabeth Street and Collins Street, Queen Street, Flinders Street, Market Street and Collins Street Swanston Street, Bourke Street, William Street and Lonsdale Street with the exception of the reserved land where the General Post Office (GPO) and Law Courts now stand.
The following notice contained in the Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas), Tuesday 14 August 1838, page 2 was a little disconcerting at first, however as William Robertson had left Hobart Town for the New Settlement in 1837, it is more than likely that the Insolvency notice of 1838 was referring to "the other William Robertson-Tailor" residing in Hobart Town at that time.
After some two years in Melbourne, William Robertson decided to take up the land and in 1839 found a favourable spot, (now known as Elderslie), near Mount Macedon, but discovered that this land had already been taken up by a Thomas Ferrier Hamilton and J Carr-Riddell. William then looked across the creek to a place the local aborigines called "Woolong", following which he returned to Melbourne and made application for a grant of land from the New South Wales Government which was subsequently granted.
