Kilmore 1837-1937: The Tale of a Century, A History of Victoria’s Oldest Inland Town by J A Maher

This is the history of Kilmore, Victoria’s oldest inland town, once situated on the Hume Highway some sixty kilometres, or about a day’s horse ride, north of Melbourne. This town figured largely in the early years of the Port Phillip settlement and, because of its strategic position, soon established itself as the biggest inland town in Victoria, on the Sydney-Melbourne Road.

In the 1840s it attracted a great number of Irish settlers and these people intensively cropped small tracts of land. Later they supplied large quantities of much needed produce to the goldfields.

Kilmore was the first seat of Local Government in country Victoria and it attracted a number of notable and colourful politicians to represent it down through the years.

Kilmore has lost a great deal of its status with the advent of modern transport. It no longer features in current affairs. Historians have long neglected Kilmore as an important historical centre and it is hoped that the re-publication of this book will arouse a much deserved interest in Kilmore.

The late JA Maher was a resident of the Kilmore area for the greater part of his life. He knew many of the early settlers personally. This makes this book a primary source of material for historical research.

This new edition comprises an enlarged biographical note on author JA Maher, along with notes on CJ Dennis, the author of the poem Kilmore. It also has a much-expanded index with the full names of people mentioned in the text, along with known birthplace, birth and death dates and occupation/s. Appendices have been added of known Board Members or Councillors of the Municipality and Borough of Kilmore, Bylands and Glenburnie Road Board, Willowmavin Road Board and the Shire of Kilmore, with similar details as above, if deceased. A suite of pictures, both historical and modern, has also been added to the text with explanatory captions.

Specifications:

Publisher: Lowden Publishing Co

Year: 2025 (This edition)

Format: Paperback

Pages: 208pp

ISBN: 9781920753221

$50.00

3 in stock