1839
January 1 Captain Lonsdale appointed Police Magistrate.
3 The first Government immigrants arrived at Melbourne in the barque Hope from Sydney They were mostly married men with families of young children.
7 Hotario Nelson Carrington appointed Clerk to the Bench. William Wright appointed Inspector of slaughter-houses and cattle.
17 The minimum price of Crown land open to selection for purchase was raised from 5/- to 12/- per acre.
27 James Croke appointed Clerk of the Crown.
February 4 Charles Joseph La Trobe appointed Superintendant of Port Phillip at a salary of 800 pounds per annum.
6 The first issue of The Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser published by J P Fawkner
13 The first sale of Melbourne suburban land was held in Sydney when about 1000 acres, now Fitzroy and Collingwood., were sold. Ranging from 12 to 28 acres - average price 7.11.0 per acre.
16 Skene Craig appointed first Postmaster of Melbourne. He was succeeded by David Kelsh from Sydney.
20 A meeting of the Melb Union Cricket Club was held. William Johnstone was secretary.
?? The first direct mail to London was sent by the barque Thomas Laurie, W B Price master, with a cargo of 400 bales of wool valued at 6,300 pounds..
March 10 Rev Francis Tuckfield and Rev Benjamin Hurst opened the first Weslyan Chapel at Swanston St. This was the first free church built by one denomination.
18-19 The Melbourne Races were held with W D G Wood, Thomas Glass, Anthony Cottrell and John Aitken as stewards. John Wood was secretary and treasurer and E D Wedge and J McNall clerks of the course.
22 Lonsdale reported to the Colonial Secretary that he had placed a small punt of his own on the Salt Water River, a little above its junction with the Yarra, in order to shorten by 10 miles the distances to William's Town and Geelong.
27 Edward Jones Brewster appointed Chairman of the Court of Quarter Sessions and Commissioner of the Court of Requests.
29 A pound was established at Melbourne with George Scarborough as keeper. It's site was on the west side of the Yarra in Flinders St opposite the end of Spring St.
April 4 George Tobin appointed Pilot at Melb. He had been acting pilot since November 1838.
Lady Franklin arrived in Melb in the brig Tamar from George Town. She was accompanied by Miss Cracroft, Capt Moriarty, the Honerable Henry Elliot, Dr Edmund Charles Hobson, 2 servants and a policeman. She travelled overland from Melb to Sydney.
28 The ship John Barry arrived from Sydneywith 200 Government immigrants.
29 Sales of fermented and spirituous liquors in quantities of not less than 2 gallons were allowed at Geelong. The school for girls and boys was reopened with William W Abbott, a gentleman recently arrived from London, as teacher. Curriculum and fees advertised in the Port Phillip Gazette:
For English, Reading and Spelling 10/- per quarter or 1/- per week
For Reading & Writing 15/- per quarter or 1/6 per week
For Reading, Writing & Arithmetic 20/- per quarter or 2/- per week
English grammar & geography included in the course
All fees payable in advance and the school hours were from 9 am to noon and from 2 pm to 4 pm
A return of the Mounted Police showed a total of 29 men with 24 horses. 8 were stationed at Melb, 4 at Geelong, 6 on the Goulburn River (Mitchell's Town) 5 on the Broken River (Benalla) and 6 on the Hume (Murray) River.
May 5 Lonsdale forwarded a return to the Colonial Secretary of the Private Schools in Melb during 1838. He stated that they had all been established during the later part of 1838 and, with the exception of Mrs Cooke's, had all closed. Ralph Walton's school which had been the first to open, had a daily attendance of 20 - 35 males and had closed in 6 months. The second boys school conducted by Edwin Cockayne had from 10 to 20 pupils per day for 2 months. At Mrs Coghlan's school, which closed after 5 months, the daily attendance was from 20 - 30 girls. From 6 - 15 girls went to Mrs Cooke's school, which had been open for 5 months. Mrs E Cooke's school was situated where Young and Jackson's Hotel now stands.
6 John Batman died aged 39 years. He was buried 2 days later in the Old Cemetery.
8 9060 acres of Crown land in the parishes of Yan Yean and Toorrourrong, county of Bourke, were in sold Sydney for 5808 pounds.
The Melb Union Benefit Society was established.
11 The Port Phillip Gazette stated that a mail cart would start from Melb to Geelong on this day.
15 The first Roman Catholic priest the Rev Patrick Bonaventure Geoghegan arrived in the schooner Paul Pry from Sydney. He was later joined by Rev Richard Walsh and they opened a small school in January 1840.
21 Sir George Gipps proclaimed the Port Phillip District one of 9 pastoral districts of NSW. Henry Fysche Gisborne was appointed Commissioner of Crown Land Port Phillip District.
22 The Scots church decided to build a brick schoolhouse - its design prepared by Mr Burn.
30 George Arden and Barry Cotter fought a duel - the seconds being William George Gardner Sams and William Meek. The first duel at Melbourne.
June 6 William Wright commenced carrying passengers in his mail cart between Melb and Geelong. The fare was 2 pounds and the charge for a parcel 2/6d.
15 The barque Midlothian arrived from Leith. She was the first vessel to sail direct from a British port to Hobson's Bay.
18 Robert Russell had been dismissed for neglect of duty and insubordination.
July 11 Lieut Alfred M Mundy in a tandem and Joseph Hawdon on horseback, started from Melb on an overland journey to Adelaide, accompanied by John Conway Bourke. They arrived there on 11th August.
15 Patrick McKeever appointed Inspector of slaughter-houses, Geelong.
August 1 5907 acres of land sold at Coburg. Also 316 ac at Richmond.
5 The Melbourne Fire and Marine Insurance Co commenced business with James Smith as Secretary.
21 Henry Hesketh appointed Clerk to the Bench at Geelong.
September 2 David Kelsh Portmaster opened a Post Office in Chancery Lane - the rental of which he had to pay.
9 A site for a village had been selected at Violet Creek.
10 Robert Saunders Webb appointed sub-treasurer.
The Melbourne hounds met at William's Town under Messrs Wood and Thomas Peevor.
14 Three allotments in Collins St were sold by Charles Hotson Ebden for 10,244.10.0 who had bought them for 136 pounds on 1 June 1837.
30 Mr La Trobe with his wife and young daughter Agnes Louisa, arrived at Melb in the barque Pyramus from Sydney. Landing at Liardet's Beach, afterwards known as Sandridge and now as Port Melbourne, Mr La Trobe walked to Melb.
October 17 Henry Batman died suddenly.
23 Thomas Haines of the British Hotel William St, shipped sheep to VDL
26 James Montgomery appointed Clerk of the Peace.
27 The first immigrant ship direct from England, the David Clarke, arrived.
November 5 The Mechanics School of Arts of Australia Felix was founded.
9 The foundation stone of St Jame's Church in Bourke St was laid. Alexander Sim did stone work and George Beaver woodwork, plastering and glazing.
12 Lonsdale appointed President, James Forbes Secretary and Thomas Burns Librarian of the Mechanics Institute.
December 23 The first public concert was held, given by Mrs Clarke of Sydney, at the British Hotel, William St. Tickets being 10/6d each.
STATISTICS FOR 1839
Exports to Great Britain - 65 tons of Wattle Bark and 358,140 lbs wool Exports to British colonies - 30,000 bricks, 3040 lbs of candles, 91 bushells wheat, 49 bushells oats, 60 bushells maize, 468 hides, 1 horse, 285 cattle, 21,449 sheep, 23,316 lbs potatoes, 31,974 lbs of salt beef, 18,552 lbs of tallow, 257,463 lbs of wool. 189 vessels sailed from Port Phillip 27 convictions for felonies and 19 for misdemeanours. 1036 immigrants arrived from Gt Britain and Ireland, 1664 from VDL, 35 from SA, 4 from NZ and 517 from Sydney.
Government erected buildings: brick watch house in Market Square a temporary weatherboard Police Office Gaolers hut in Flinders St A temporary hospital for convicts A Mounted Police slabbed feeding shed Wattle and plastered military huts on the Government block Officers servants rooms - wattle and plastered. Tide Waiter's office at the wharf
Church of England - 55 baptisms, 42 marriages and 42 burials Established Church of Scotland - 21 baptisms, 19 marriages and 13 burials Independant Church - 6 baptisms and 1 marriage Catholic - 44 baptisms, 9 marriages 11 burials Wesleyan at Melb - 7 baptisms Wesleyan at Buntingdale Mission Station - 9 baptisms 2 burials
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