I am interested in the early history of Majorca. I have family connections with this township. My grandfather being born there in 1903, his family and maternal grandparents having been shopkeepers, I think. The family names are Cornwall (Cornwill) and Lobb. I would be interested to hear from anyone with information. regards Debra.

Hi Debra, You could contact the Carisbrook Historical Society, they are the closest to Majorca and may be able to help. email <[email protected]> or try their website at www.cgold.com.au/carisbrook%Historical%20S/home/htm Dave in Ballarat At 11:12 PM 2/08/2008, Ken Porteous wrote: >I am interested in the early history of Majorca. I have family >connections with this township. My grandfather being born there in >1903, his family and maternal grandparents having been shopkeepers, I think. > >The family names are Cornwall (Cornwill) and Lobb. > >I would be interested to hear from anyone with information. > >regards > >Debra. > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >[email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' >without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message :-) Victorian Mining Accident Index, over 12,100 names sorted Alphabetically as well as by Place. on CDROM $20.00 plus Postage. Mining Registrars Reports 1859 to 1887 all Victoria, most reports published, send for a list to Dave Evans 439 Main Rd. Ballarat, 3350 Victoria or email [email protected]

Hi, If it is possible - then I recommend that people visit the towns of their family history - in this case - have a short holiday in Majorca and the surrounding towns - Maryborough, Amherst, Carisbrook etc. - take the kids to Sovereign Hill to get some feel for what the gold-rush towns may have been like - find the cemetery - can be a good indicator of all sorts of things - possibly find some monuments to ancestors? of course - most of us can't do that - so the next best thing - books and google - After a little googling we learn that in December 2007, writer, historian, survivor - Daryl McLeish published "Majorca - The Last Eldorado" - details are at this address: http://www.past2presentinprint.com.au/page.php?display=1 I expect that McLeish is well known to some readers of AusVicGoldfields - his family were in the Carisbrook district from the about the mid 1850s - just a few years after my ancestors got there :) McLeish is selling the book online - but I'm sure there may be other's offering the book?? Perhaps even some libraries may have a copy - ask at your local library about getting it in on an inter-library loan? - who knows the local libary may love to do that? and here's a little description from McLeish's website: Majorca is the last recognised major gold mining rush where a township sprung up from virtually nowhere in 1863 and flourished for the next 40 odd years to eventually become a ghost gold town. *Majorca boasted 250 businesses within its town in the first year and possibly the most deep lead gold mines, over 50, almost all within its town boundary plus the involvement of Mr Lowe Kong Meng, a Melbourne Chinese businessman who opened a chain of 6 deep lead mines at Majorca, in his name, very successfully.* Hotels a plenty, Majorca was a hard working and fun loving community and *when gold ran out so did Majorca.* ______________________________________________________________________________________ We learn that maybe Majorca is just hanging on? At this site http://www.magfos.com/goldfields.htm reading of a 2001 bicycle tour of the region we learn that back then the place was pretty quiet - perhaps the boom years since have helped kick it along a little? *There's not much left of the once busy settlement of Majorca. A few buildings scattered here and there, the white mullock heaps of the Hanoverian Deep Lead mine and the coffee shop. Well, not really a coffee shop but the small general store which has a tiny machine for making cappuccinos. __________________________________________________________________________________________ * We also learn from the fabulous Australian Dictionary of Biography online edition that prominent Chinese merchant and community leader Lowe Kong Meng had gold mining interests in Majorca - at this address http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A050126b.htm __________________________________________________________________________________________ And at this website - http://home.alphalink.com.au/~itcsc/genealogy/cameron/collindy/d0004/F204.html - put together by Ian and Collindy Cameron - we learn that the Cornwall family were in the region of Brighton, Victoria before Majorca - and the Vic indexes show that Alice LOBB - wife of John George CORNWILL married in 1900 but that her family was in the region in the 1860s. The LOBB surname seems to come from Cornwall - not surprisning that - many people from Cornwall were working the mines - A visit to one of my favourite sites: the National Library site at http://www.nla.gov.au/ contains the link to another favourite site: the PictureAustralia search engine http://www.pictureaustralia.org/index.html where a very simple search produces some great results of pics of Majorca - which may go a little way towards providing an understanding of Majorca's early days? I didn't spend too much time on having a look but I did take an immediate liking to the picture at this address: http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/pictures/0/0/0/doc/pi000120.shtml Residents of Majorca trapped in time waiting for the photographer to tell them that he's all done? - One of the town's watering holes in prominent view - great stuff - thank goodness some have had the sense to take pictures such as this - and others have had the good sense to save and preserve them? Next time somebody asks for a donation towards a history society or archiving organisation - please try to give a little...... (end of political campaigning :) ) good luck - Robert in Melbourne ps. The 1909 electoral roll shows the family is still in the district - funny though - no mention of shopkeepers - they appaerntly were engaged in mining? - in 1914?? Alice is still in the district but but by 1919 Alice is registered in the Brighton district - so I expect she left the town sometime during WW1?? Ken Porteous wrote: > I am interested in the early history of Majorca. I have family connections with this township. My grandfather being born there in 1903, his family and maternal grandparents having been shopkeepers, I think. > > The family names are Cornwall (Cornwill) and Lobb. > > I would be interested to hear from anyone with information. > > regards > > Debra. > >