Has anyone heard of Sister Bull's house in Bairnsdale, and if so where was it and can you tell me anything about it? I know that it was there in 1914 as my father was born there and I understand others were. Any information would be appreciated. Regards Margaret

Hi Margaret, This was known as "Riverview" late in its life, I have a feeling it may have been "Gwandalyn" at one stage earlier. I am not sure of the exact path late in its life, but I think it was acquired by someone after Sister Bull ceased to use it, possibly the Smiths of Rosehill, and it was then left to the Anglican Church to be used as a girl's hostel. It remained vacant while the church, over some time, contested the will, and were then allowed to demolish the property. I think that would have been the early 1980s. There are a number of modern houses on the site today. I am having trouble picking the exact point - someone on the ground up there, so to speak, might manage it better. It faced Riverine Street, and was in the "pointy" bit of the intersection with, I think, Pearson Street. Most of the babies for several generations were born there. Nurse Alice Bull enlisted in WWI in June 1915, aged 36 years, and served mainly on hospital ships. She was discharged in 1919 as unfit for further service. (see GHJ #16 - Gippsland's Great War Nurses). I think despite this she and another sister ran the hospital after that, but this would need confirmation. Interestingly, she is a daughter and grand-daughter of long-established Bairnsdale saddlers (the Bulls), plus of Henry Goodenough, prominent policeman of Bairnsdale who was a major player in the Eureka Stockade incident. Somewhere I have photographs of the building late in life, when it was derelict prior to demolition, but finding them may be a challenge. My impression is that it was a substantial brick building with a grey concrete render, surrounded by a large garden. There is a fair bit written about it, as its demolition was a matter of much angst amongst a number of people with an interest in heritage issues. All this is with one caveat - I think she was there before she went off to the war, and her nurse-partner cared for it while she was away. But I know she started off somewhere smaller. Someone in Bairnsdale may know better the exact date she began at Riverview. Regards Linda At 06:31 AM 20/04/2008 +1000, Margaret wrote: >Has anyone heard of Sister Bull's house in Bairnsdale, and if so where was >it and can you tell me anything about it? I know that it was there in 1914 >as my father was born there and I understand others were. Any information >would be appreciated.

Sister Bull's house was in Riverine St, Bairnsdale. It later became a boarding house - where I lived when I first came to Bairnsdale in 1958. It was run by Frank Chisholm and his wife (whose name now escapes me) at that time and it was in the backyard one night that I and all the others living there (mostly bank johnnies and schoolteachers) saw the phenomenon that was Sputnik for the first time. Coincidentally, my wife who I met later that year, and married in 1959, was born there during Sister Bull's tenure. The old place was demolished a few years back and is now a complex of units. the older of the tworobbos

Hi All, I am in the wrong place at present, so I wonder if someone could consult Marion Le Cheminant's Inventory of sites for East Gippsland (not on all bookshelves), or John Adams or Hal Porter on Bairnsdale. Just to see if there is any suggestion when Alice Bull started at "Riverview". I am coming more to the thought that she didn't go there until after she came back from the war, and Margaret's father may have been born at the first house. And I am not sure where that one was. I wonder would anyone who has Bairnsdale birth certificates mind dragging them out. If Sister Bull was a witness (or if you can work out the name of her partner), and a street address is given, it could be most helpful. Regards Linda

Hi All Extract from page 142/143 of Hal Porter's Bairnsdale William Potter's Bower House, built in Riverine Street in 1868, possesses the very qualities-a history, old trees, architectural charm -which invite doom in Bairnsdale. Bought by Frank Smith, grazier of Rosehill, about 1920, it has undergone the metamorphoses large country-town houses do: private residence, Church of England Girls' Hostel (under Deaconess Rodda), private Hospital called Gwandalyn (Sister Alice Bull, one of the town's notable women), and guest-house, renamed again, this time Riverview. Conforming to the wealthy spinster pattern Miss Annie Smith willed the house she had inherited - it's garden dishevelled, the lathes of it's latticed summer-house long ago fed to the chip-heater or washing day fire-to the Church of England diocese. The Churches intentions remain mysterious but are scarcely one fears tender and untainted enough to include the preservation of a pioneer house and (1976) the oldest in town. John ----- Original Message ----- From: "Linda Barraclough" <kapana@netspace.net.au> To: <aus-vic-gippsland@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2008 8:22 AM Subject: Re: [AVG] Sister Bull > Hi All, > > I am in the wrong place at present, so I wonder if someone could > consult Marion Le Cheminant's Inventory of sites for East Gippsland > (not on all bookshelves), or John Adams or Hal Porter on Bairnsdale. > Just to see if there is any suggestion when Alice Bull started at > "Riverview". I am coming more to the thought that she didn't go there > until after she came back from the war, and Margaret's father may > have been born at the first house. And I am not sure where that one was. > > I wonder would anyone who has Bairnsdale birth certificates mind > dragging them out. If Sister Bull was a witness (or if you can work > out the name of her partner), and a street address is given, it could > be most helpful. > > Regards > > Linda > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > AUS-VIC-GIPPSLAND-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi Linda A birth in Bairnsdale January 1933 at 37 Riverine st Sister Bull and Dr A N Robertson Witnesses regards Jan ----- Original Message ----- From: "Linda Barraclough" <kapana@netspace.net.au> To: <aus-vic-gippsland@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2008 8:22 AM Subject: Re: [AVG] Sister Bull > Hi All, > > I am in the wrong place at present, so I wonder if someone could > consult Marion Le Cheminant's Inventory of sites for East Gippsland > (not on all bookshelves), or John Adams or Hal Porter on Bairnsdale. > Just to see if there is any suggestion when Alice Bull started at > "Riverview". I am coming more to the thought that she didn't go there > until after she came back from the war, and Margaret's father may > have been born at the first house. And I am not sure where that one was. > > I wonder would anyone who has Bairnsdale birth certificates mind > dragging them out. If Sister Bull was a witness (or if you can work > out the name of her partner), and a street address is given, it could > be most helpful. > > Regards > > Linda > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > AUS-VIC-GIPPSLAND-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >