> Thank You Marion, > That adds a little background to the baptism of Mary Jane. > The book by Dawn Peel what information does it have in it? > Is Dawn on this list? > I have Peel's on my wifes side from Inverleigh > > Regards > Russell I'm pretty sure that Dawn's husband was a relative of the Inverleigh PEELs. I've only skimmed through her book (needing to concentrate for the moment on the one I'm helping to write), but found it very clear and informative. I think it's called something like "1857: Year of Hope". She tries to give a picture of the life of Colac in that one year in particular, of course relating it to the previous history of the area, and mentions a number of families. She lives in or near Colac, and I'm sure their Historical Society could put you in touch with her. Dawn is giving a talk to the Geelong Historical Society on Nov 7 at the venue Jennifer Bantow gave on this list this morning, so if you live in Geelong you could meet her in person. She would have details of the land occupation in the district, I imagine. In the case of our Highton Wesleyan church and most others, the church was built on a grant of Crown Land, and only later passed into the ownership of local trustees. But sometimes a local patron donated the land. Best of luck with your searches. Marion