JOCK LAWSON AND THE YALLOURN BOWLING CLUB
This news report, regarding the opening of the new bowling green at Yallourn, was unearthed in the ‘Morwell Advertiser’ in 1936, nearly 80 years ago. It was a red-letter day in the history of Yallourn.
The origins of the Yallourn Bowling Club can be traced back to correspondence, from the General Superintendent (Mr Bridge), as early as 1927 regarding the possibility of the construction of a six-rink bowling green in the town.
It is recorded that the SECV handed over the green (then in Broadway) in November 1929 and a club house was erected sometime later in 1930.
In the following newspaper article, mention is made of Mr Jock Lawson whose knowledge of horticulture and support for the Sir John Monash’s vision of Yallourn transformed the surrounds of the town from scrubby bushland into one of the most beautiful garden towns in Australia.
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October 8th 1936 Morwell Advertiser Page: 4
OPENING OF YALLOURN GREEN
Bowlers are looking forward with pleasure to the coming season which promises to be a very happy one for those who can participate in a "roll on the green."
The Yallourn Club, which is the baby club of the Central Gippsland Association, but is now "fully grown," officially opened their green on Saturday last, under most favourable conditions. The weather was all that could be desired and there was a large number of local bowlers as well as representatives of Morwell and Trafalgar Clubs present.
The visitors were greatly struck with the marvellous condition of the green. It is beautifully grassed and presents the appearance of an immense billiard table. It undoubtedly compares more than favourably with any green in the State, and is a credit to those responsible for its condition. The precincts were gaily decorated with flags of various colours that seemed to clap their hands in welcome as they "flapped their wings" in the breeze.
The popular President of the Club (Mr Jock Lawson) extended a hearty welcome to all present and called upon Mr R. Dixon (General Supt.) who was the first President of the Club to open the green. Mr Dixon congratulated the Club upon the progress that had been made. He had been pleased to do what he could as he believed a good bowling green was in the interests of the community. He said it afforded him much pleasure to declare the green open and trusted the Club would have a most successful season.
A champion lady bowler of the Club (Mrs Bowler) was afterwards called upon to throw the first Jack and Mrs Bingham put down the first bowl. A rink competition afterwards took place and after a most interesting contest the winners turned up in Messrs Bailey (capt.) Bowler, Sloan and Stewart, who were each presented with a trophy by the President of the C.G.B.A. (Mr G. Watson) on behalf of donor.
During the afternoon dainty refreshments were dispensed by the ladies which added further pleasure to the enjoyable function. Mr Blake (President of Morwell Club), on behalf of visitors, thanked the ladies for their kind hospitality and also congratulated the Yallourn Club upon the excellency of their green. In conclusion he expressed the hope that Yallourn would be runners-up to Morwell for the Pennant this season.
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FOOTNOTES: JOCK LAWSON~ HEAD GARDENER OF YALLOURN
1. Jock Lawson was a popular and highly respected identity of Yallourn and his contribution to the beautiful parks and gardens should be acknowledged in this project of recording the history of the township on the Virtual Yallourn website.
2. John ‘Jock’ Lawson was born in South Queensferry, (Fife) Scotland in 1901 and from his early days expressed an interest in horticulture. It is known that he studied botany at night school when he was employed at the Glasgow Botanic Gardens.
3. In 1928 Jock was employed as a gardener at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens; and his experience as a gardener, in Ballarat and the world-famous Kew Gardens (London), would have influenced the SECV in its deliberations to appoint him to the important position of Head Gardener at Yallourn in 1929.
4. In 1935 Herbert Olney, Member of Legislative Council, visited the Yallourn Bowling Club and in his address congratulated the club…
“…upon the excellent appearance of the green, for which, he believed Jock Lawson was mainly responsible.”
5. As can be seen by the following extract in ‘The Argus’, Jock Lawson’s work at Yallourn was admired and acknowledged throughout Victoria. The previous curator of the town’s parks and gardens was Mr Norman (better known as Roy) Greville; and according to ‘The Argus’ (2nd April 1936), Mr Greville, who by then (1936) had become Assistant Curator of the City of Essendon Gardens, was one of a…
“…party of 62 members of the Tree-Planters' Association of Victoria visited Yallourn today. The tour is made annually for the dual purpose of acquiring further knowledge of tree-planting conditions and of encouraging the planting of more trees in every part of the State. The party included Mr. James Railton (President), the Hon. Alderman Shoebridge, M.L.C., of Hobart; Mr. B. Lipscombe (Superintendent of Reserves, Hobart); Mr. S. Orchard (Curator of the City of Adelaide Gardens); Mr. W. MacGowan (Curator of the City of Launceston gardens); Mr. J. E. R. Fellowes (Curator of Albury Botanic Gardens); Councillor J. Grant (Mayor of Bright): Mr. D. S. Middleton (Superintendent of the Metropolitan Board of Forests) and Mr. R. Greville (Curator of the City of Essendon Gardens).”
According to the Essendon Historical Society, Roy Greville was promoted to Curator in 1938 and continued in that position until his retirement (due to ill-health) in May 1945. It is known that Roy Greville passed away in 1979.
6. Jock’s knowledge of horticulture, his previous experience in England and hard work brought about a steady transformation in the appearance of Yallourn. He also played a major role in the establishment of a superb plant nursery where flowers, shrubs and trees were propagated and used in the beautification of the gardens, streets, reserves and parks of Yallourn.
7. Some years ago, Fae Lawson (now Horman) forwarded the following memories of her life, in those early times in Yallourn, for posting on the Virtual Yallourn website…
“First and last to live at the Nursery; no neighbours - just bush…. five acres of Nursery with plants for the township of Yallourn. Stables for draught horses - they pulled the drays; these were used before utilities. Further away was the briquette factory and open cut, which could be walked around (at first); also the power station. I used to enjoy seeing the steam, then hearing the whistle from the power station.”
8. The Morwell Historical newsletter published a comprehensive article by Ann Hollenson (Latrobe Regional Commission) regarding Jock and his exceptional contribution to the town of Yallourn. In that article, Ann wrote…
“Jock was also required to lay out and maintain the public gardens. Monash Square, then Broadway Gardens required a considerable amount of attention, which was rewarded by the emergence of a stately public park incorporating paths, flowerbeds, hedges and trees into a scene resembling an English garden.” August 1990, Page: 11.
9. According to Prue McGoldrick …
“…on 18th March 1930, a public meeting elected the following trustees to control and maintain the recreation reserves being won by the Commission for public use: Messrs M. Cox, R.A. Hunt, P. Harry, H. Brewer, P.D. Lynch, J. Lawson. Commission appointees were J. McCafferty and C. Boehm. ‘Yallourn Was’ Page :91
10. As the newspapers of that period indicate, Jock was a driving force in the formation of the Yallourn and District Horticultural Society. In later years, Jock and Nan (aka Agnes) were awarded Life Memberships of the Yallourn & District Horticultural Society.
11. It is well known that Jock was highly involved in community affairs …
“…He was never at home: Nan Lawson said of her husband Jock, the head gardener at Yallourn for forty years. She remembered him going off to “a meeting for this and then one for that…” Meredith Fletcher ‘Digging People Up for Coal’ Page: 73.
12. In 1947 the ‘Morwell Advertiser’ reported that the new surrounds and gardens of the Morwell Church Community Gardens had been planned and landscaped by Jock Lawson.
13. The work of the Head Gardener was often more than ‘met the eye’ in those days; and very few residents of the town were actually aware of the work that Jock and his loyal team of gardeners did in clearing fire-breaks for the summer months. The following extract was published in the Moe Historical Publication: ‘Coach News’ Volume 34 No: 3 (2007)….
“…Head Gardener of Yallourn was not a small job. The whole township was surrounded by ti-tree scrub and a forest of string bark, messmate and fern gullies which has to be kept free of rubbish, as the SECV was particularly careful in making sure that all fire risks around the valuable but highly flammable coal fields were eliminated. Firebreaks were also cleared, at approximate right angles to prevalent summer winds…’’
14. Jock was a keen and successful lawn bowler and his name appeared regularly in the sporting pages of the local newspapers. In 1937-38, Jock was a member of the Yallourn bowling team that defeated every other Gippsland team to take out the ‘Argus Shield.’
15. In 1946 Jock received praise for his outstanding play which led to Yallourn to win again the ‘Argus Shield’. Jock was captain of the victorious Yallourn team on that occasion
16. Thanks to Fran Clark, Secretary of the Yallourn Bowling Club, for forwarding the following information regarding Jock for this story…
“… Jock joined Yallourn Bowling Club in 1929.He was the Club Secretary for 4 years from 1931 to 1934. He won the Men's Club Singles Championship in 1937 and also 1940-41 and 1948-9.Jock also won the Club Championship Pairs with A. Hamilton in 1930-31, 1937-38 ,1941-42 and 1942-43.He won the Club Championship Veterans in 1968-69 and in 1969-70.”
17. Jock was an active member of the Yallourn High School Council where his children Fae and Ian (aka John) attended.
18. In February 1955 the MCC XI, captained by Sir Leonard Hutton, played a two day match against a Victorian Country XI at the Yallourn Oval. Jock Lawson had the onerous responsibility to oversee the preparation of the turf wicket and surrounds; and by the time the first ball was bowled the standard of the playing arena was superb. According to the ‘Morwell Advertiser’…’
“The English cricketers, visiting pressman and commentators, Australian and International, had nothing but praise for the Yallourn Oval which they described as the best country ground they have ever seen on tour.”
Fae Lawson (Horman) recalled that, following the match, her father received a letter from Sir Leonard Hutton thanking Jock for preparing such an excellent wicket for the match. Sir Len also commented that the Yallourn Oval was as good as the Test match ground in Adelaide that year. Fae added …
“…I know my Father was delighted.”
Note: The MCC won the match by an innings and 23 runs. Yallourn’s two representatives in that match were wicketkeeper Dick Sagar and fast bowler John Grant.
19. Severe tragedy struck the Lawson family in July 1959 when Ian (John) was killed in Malaya. At the time of his death, he was a serving member of the RAAF. Ian is buried at the Butterworth Cemetery.
20. Jock was the Head Gardener at Yallourn from 1928-1966 and was later awarded the British Empire Medal for his services to Yallourn in 1970. The decision to honour Jock with such a decoration would have been greeted with acclamation by the people of Yallourn. On each occasion when a resident walked along a tree-lined footpath, crossed a park or played sport on the manicured ovals of the town, there was a gentle reminder of the genius of the ‘town’s gardener’.
21. When the demolition of Yallourn was imminent, Jock and Nan shifted to Morwell and took up residence in Hoyle Street. It would be interesting to know how Jock felt when he witnessed the demise of his beautiful parks, reserves and gardens as they went to ‘wrack and ruin’ before the dredgers moved in. In providing information for this story, Fae stated…
“I admired the philosophical attitude of Dad when he lived to see his lifetime work go underground.”
22. According to Prue McGoldrick there was even a certain beauty about the town during its final days.
“The town was dying but with dignity. Well-tended gardens and tidy streets showed pride in its appearance to the end.”
It seems that despite the approaching demise of the town, Jock Lawson and many other keen gardeners had left their mark on the town.
23. It can be argued that Jock Lawson was somewhat of a visionary as he understood the way in which gardens could bring harmony, pride and tranquility to working communities. It seems that he fully appreciated the essence of the ‘garden town’ philosophy as advocated by Ebenezer Howard and other luminaries.
24. Sadly, Jock died in a road crash on his way home from the Leongatha Daffodil Show in September 1988. John and Nan (died 1990) are both buried in the Yallourn Cemetery and in Fae’s words… “a beautiful place overlooking the surrounding hills.”
25. Jock Lawson’s name, as an office bearer and player of the Yallourn Bowling Club, can be viewed at the Newborough club house. The four lawn bowls (‘JL’ inscribed) that Jock used as player are on also display in the foyer of the pavilion, as a reminder of his outstanding ability and service to the club.
26. Finally, not only was the bowling green (see the photograph above) regarded as one of the finest in the land but the magnificent town square gardens, parks and sporting grounds are testament to Jock Lawson’s remarkable gift as a gardener/curator ….
“The results of his foresight and planning can be seen today (1976) and stand as a monument to his ability.” ‘To Yallourn with Love’ Page: 106.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Virtual Yallourn would like to sincerely thank Fae Lawson (Horman) for her very kind assistance in providing information regarding aspects of her life in Yallourn, her family and for reading the final draft of this story.
Fae now lives in Geelong and continues to take a deep interest in the affairs of YOGA. Special thanks to Fae also for providing the photographs of her father for posting on the website.
Sources used in writing this article for Virtual Yallourn website included:
• The Moe Historical Society Magazine: ‘Coach News’ Volume 24 No 3.
• Morwell Historical Society Magazine: August 1990.
• ‘Yallourn Was’ by Prue McGoldrick.
• ‘To Yallourn with Love’
• ‘Digging People Up For Coal’ by Meredith Fletcher.
• ‘The Argus’ Newspaper April 1936 and various editions of local newspapers.
• Mr Bob Chalmers- Essendon Historical Society.
• Kim Tayler- Secretary of the Yallourn Cemetery Trust.
• Fran Clark- Secretary of the Yallourn Bowling Club.
The research for the footnotes and associated photographs for this Virtual Yallourn history project were collated, prepared and written by Julie George and Roger Spaull in June 2015.
The above extract from the ‘Morwell Advertiser’ has been transcribed in good faith. Changes in font and spacing have been made to enhance the article for posting on the Virtual Yallourn Website.
THE END
Jock Lawson - Head Gardener at Yallourn Nursery - Bowling Club YBC
Winners of the Argus Shield
