Isaac Moore (1823-1899) was an illiterate farmer who had worked as a gardener on a rented property in Thomastown prior to setting in Boronia Road near present day Moore Road (Brennan, 1972). Moore received assistance to acquire his land parcel from real estate agent, George Augustus Goodwin (Shambrook, 2014).
Moore was one of the ‘42nd Selectors’ as he acquired land after the introduction of the ‘Amending Act of 1865’ (also known as ‘The Grant Act’). Clause 42 allowed individuals to acquire up to 80 acres of land across four licenses within ten miles, and later expanded to thirty miles, of a gold field (Brennan, 1972). The nearest goldfields to Nunawading were in Warrandyte with gold found at Anderson’s Creek.
A requirement was that settlers were to make improvements to the land held under license, such as the construction of boundary fences and construction of boundary fences and construction of a dwelling. Those who were successful were able to renew their license on an annual basis with the eventual aim of obtaining a Crown grant for the land.
Moore’s land was originally part of Crown Allotment 122c and comprised a 76-acre block on the south side of Boronia Road (Allom Lovell and Associates).
Isaac Moore and his wife Elizabeth (nee Holmes) (1828-1895) had five sons; Joseph Walter (1860-1931), Frederick Shipley (1862-1938), Francis Henry (1864-1937), Arthur Charles (1868-1931) and Alfred (1870-1971); several of which attended the Vermont State School. Two of Isaac’s sons married members of the neighbouring Plumridge family; Francis to Constance in 1890, and Arthur Charles to Alice Louisa Plumridge. Another son, Alfred married Louisa Mock; another family of prominent orchardists in the East Burwood area. A map of Nunawading municipal directory of 1892 depicts Isaac Moore’s Boronia Road property as owned by his eldest son, Joseph Moore.
After the death of Isaac Moore in 1899, the property was ‘subdivided into four large lots’ and the construction of Moore Road was initiated (Allom Lovell and Associates).
References
1. Allom Lovell and Associates, 'City of Whitehorse Heritage Review: Building Citations'. 2. Brennan, Niall, 1972, A History of Nunawading, The Hawthorn Press, Melbourne. 3. Shambrook, 2014, ‘Unearthing the History of Weston Favell'.
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