1944
The Simmie Family
The Simmie Family line which founded Simmie & Co and which farmed Harpsdale, came to Victoria from Scotland in the mid-19th century. By 1910 the three Simmie brothers central to this story had moved with their mother, her second husband and his children to Sunshine, drawn by the newly established McKay’s Harvester Works. All three brothers served in World War One. In 1924 they established the highly successful building company, Simmie & Co., in both Canberra (1926 - 1969) and Melbourne (1924 - 1978). John Ernest ‘Jock’ Simmie, the middle brother, urchased the historical property Harpsdale, in 1940. He raised his son and daughter there, and the youngest grandson of Jock Simmie, Richard, lives at the property until today.
1852
George Simmie arrives in Victoria on the Hibernia
1858
Annie Simmie , sister, arrives Melbourne
1862
William and Flora Simmie and family and John & Ann Simmie and family arrives Port Phillip on Clipper Marco Polo
1868 - 1897
William Simmie establishes ‘Ruthven’ on the Campaspe River north - east of Bendigo
The Australian story of the Simmie family branch in focus, starts with the arrival in the new colony of Victoria via Liverpool from their birthplace in Perthshire, Scotland of siblings and family members over 1852 - 1862. The forebear of the Simmies of this history, William Simmie , had been a farm labourer and ploughman in his native Perthshire. William Simmie (1825 - 1901), and his wife, Floranée Penny (1825 - 1897) emigrated along with their three children, as unassisted migrants, i.e., they paid for their own passage. They arrived in Port Phillip in March 1862. William’s brother John (1823 - 1867) and his family also came in the same vessel, the Marco Polo, a three-mast clipper. Another brother George (1828 - 1906), had migrated ten years before, arriving on the Hibernia at the start of the gold rush in 1852. A sister, Annie (1830 - 1896), arrived two years later.
William and Flora had two more children after arriving in Victoria. Their five children were:
- Annie (1852 – 1891), who married Arthur Balding (1847 – 1923) – they had 15 children.
- Janet (1853 – 1941), who married Thomas Matthew Trewick (1846 – 1922) – no children from the marriage although Trewick had several children from a previous marriage.
- John (1857 – 1915), who married Jamesina Alice Harper (1861 – 1923) – they had four children.
- George (1862 – 1937) who married Elizabeth Ann Childs (1865 – 1938) – they had four children.
- James Simmie (1865 – 1897), who married Janet Aberline (1866 – 1954) in Deniliquin, New South Wales (NSW) in 1889 – they had three sons
The
three sons were:
- William James (‘Bill’) Simmie (1890 – 1986)
- John Ernest (‘Jock’) Simmie (1892 – 1968)
- George Herbert Simmie (1895 – 1944)
On arrival in Victoria, William and Flora Simmie and brother John and his family lived in Carlton for a while before the brothers joined up with their younger brother George – who had established himself as a contractor in the ten years since his arrival in 1852 as stonemasons and blacksmiths. George by this time was also ‘a partner in the firm contracted to build most of the Bendigo to Echuca railway line. They worked through to the finish of the line at Echuca [in 1864] and built many of the stone culverts that are frequent along the railway’. About 1868 William selected land near Elmore northeast of Bendigo on the Campaspe River and named his farm ‘Ruthven’. At the time it was about 76 acres (about 31 hectares); he farmed there at least until 1897.
1870
William Simmie’s brother George purchases 37,500 acres at Cornelia Creek,
1889
Youngest son of William, James Simmie, marries Janet Aberline in Deniliquin , NSW
William Simmie’s youngest son, James Simmie, married in 1889 at the Wesleyan Parsonage (Methodist) in Deniliquin, NSW. He was 24 and his wife Janet was 22. Their marriage certificate shows th at he was a clerk, and she was a domestic servant, both residing in Deniliquin. He had been born in Goornong, just south of Elmore in Victoria (presumably at his father William’s homestead on ‘Ruthven’) and she at equally obscure Keilambete in Victoria, so both were some ways from their roots. Keilambete was a small dairy farming community near Terang in the Western Districts of Victoria . Janet Aberline’s father, a dairyman, had by then died and her mother Janet (née McFarlane)’s circumstances were unknown. However, Janet was the second of ten children; perhaps that was a clue as to why Janet Aberline herself was in Deniliquin as a domestic servant. If the family had fallen on hard times after the death of her father, she would almost certainly have been forced to look for a ‘position’ elsewhere.
1891
James Simmie appointed station master at Moama for t he Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company .
In the case of James, it is known that a few years later, in 1891, he was appointed railway station master at Moama, in NSW across the river Murray from Echuca. The Deniliquin and Moama Railway Company built a private railway in 1879 to connect with Moama, across the Murray River from the busy Victorian river port of Echuca. That town was connected in turn to Melbourne through the railway line which reached Echuca in 1864 via Bendigo. The new broad gauge railway track to Deniliquin was opened on 4 July 1876. A director of the Victorian private investment company which financed the railroad was William Simmie’s younger brother, George, by now a wealthy landholder
(including of the exceptionally large property of Cornelia Creek Run), politician and businessman investor. As was later reported, James was ‘in the employ of the Deniliquin and Moama Railway since boyhood'. Hence his position as clerk at his marriage in 1889 in Deniliquin, and his subsequent employment as railway station master in Moama in 1891.
1890 - 1895
Three sons born – William James (‘Bill’), John Ernest (‘Jock’), and George Herbert Simmie
John, William & George Simmie, c.1898
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
Janet Simmie and her three sons – George in her arms, Jock front left and Bill front right c1895
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
James and Janet Simmie moved into a house on Echuca Street, Moama with their infant son, William James Simmie (‘Bill’) born in 1896; two brothers followed William – John Ernest Simmie (‘Jock’) in 1892 and George Herbert Simmie in 1895. James Simmie established himself in the local community, noted as an auditor for the Moama Municipal Council in March 1896. His eldest brother, Scottish - born John Simmie (1857 - 1915), had also settled in the area south of Echuca at Elmore and had become a Councillor in the Huntly Shire Council. He was also an early member and later Lodge Master for the Freemason’s Millewa Lodge 47 in Echuca. James Simmie, now the railway station master in Moama, a family man, and with a responsible position as well as auditor for the Moama Municipal Council, would have been an early candidate to join the Freemasons, no doubt at his uncle’s invitation.
James Simmie’s Freemason’s briefcase
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
1897
James Simmie dies
James Simmie appeared to be an up-and-coming young man, but tragedy struck on 4 March 1897 when he died unexpectedly at the age of 31 from ‘consumption’ (tuberculosis) from which he had been suffering for about 12 months. His death ‘followed a severe attack of influenza’. James Simmie was buried in Elmore and his funeral cortège consisted of ‘35 vehicles and a number of horsemen’. At the time of their father’s death, the boys were aged six, four and two. James’ wife, now a widow with uncertain means and three young boys to parent, faced a difficult future, although James’ will left the house and land and £514 in life insurance and savings (his life insurance with the Australian Mutual Provident Society was £500). Janet Simmie placed a memorial notice in the Riverine Herald, with the poignant verse:
Abide with me; fast falls the even-tide
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away
Change and decay in all around I see
O, Thou who changest not, abide with me
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away
Change and decay in all around I see
O, Thou who changest not, abide with me
Only four days before James’ untimely death, his father William, now in his 70s, sold out at ‘Ruthven’ and stepped back from farming, although continued to live at the homestead until at least 1900. This sale could have been precipitated in part by the decline of his wife Flora’s health as much as his own age as a farmer. Flora Simmie died several months after her son, on 21 July 1897, aged 72. The Elmore Standard, in its obituary, said; ‘The death of Mrs Simmie happening so shortly after that of her youngest son, James, casts a gloom upon the event which will not be lightly dispelled’. William Simmie lived to 77, cared for by his surviving daughter Janet Trewick (1853-1941). He died in 1901 from pneumonia and was also buried at Elmore. His Estate was valued at £6,200 (472 acres) with liabilities of £688, net value of £5,512. His sons George and John were the main beneficiaries of the land while his daughter Janet had a life interest in 72 acres and received £600. Grandchildren William (Bill) and John (Jock) Simmie received £50 each as did a grand-daughter, Janet Balding and his niece, Mary Simmie. No-one knows why the youngest grandson George did not also receive £50; perhaps the will was made up before George was born and never amended.
1904
Janet Simmie remarries to John Montgomery
Janet Simmie moved to Echuca with the three boys and no doubt received help from the extended Simmie family, including through the Masonic Lodge, but there is no doubt life would have been difficult for her. The boys attended Echuca State Primary School 208. In 1903, on the Victorian Electoral Rolls, she was noted as living in Pakenham Street in Echuca, and is listed as a ‘confectioner’, so by then was certainly back in employment to make ends meet. Janet remarried in 1904 to John Ford Montgomery, aged 42 (1862-1951), a carpenter of Sutton Street, Echuca East. He was a widower too; his first wife Lillie (née Edgell) had died in 1901. They had seven children, aged between 7 and 21. Perhaps unusually they were married in Melbourne rather than locally at Echuca or Elmore, under the Free Christian Church. This church was located in Queen Street, Melbourne. In an advertisement in 1901 it was stated:
Marriages celebrated by ordained clergymen, with due solemnity, in strictest privacy, at Holt's Matrimonial Agency, 448 Queen Street, Melbourne, opposite the old cemetery, or elsewhere, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, Saturdays included. (No notice required).
Fee ten shillings and sixpence; or marriage, with guaranteed gold wedding ring and necessary witnesses provided, £1 one shilling P.S. - No other charges whatsoever. All sizes, more costly wedding rings kept in stock if required.
James Holt and his wife Annie were usually the ‘witnesses provided’ and were, in fact, the witnesses for John Montgomery and Janet Simmie in 1904. Janet Simmie, now Montgomery had one child Eric Ford Aberline Montgomery, born in October 1906 in Echuca. Family lore states that when Janet married Montgomery, George Simmie (who died in 1906 with an estate valued at £178,000) disinherited her. The Simmie boys were then 14, 12 and 9, but came to regard John Montgomery as their father.
Janet and John Montgomery wedding photo 1904
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
1910
Family moves to Sunshine, home of the McKay Harvester Works. Older Simmie boys go to work as carpenters, George as a clerk. Bill and Jock play in Sunshine-Braybrook Football club and Sunshine District Cricket Club
John (Jock) and William (Bill) became carpenters by trade. Jock Simmie later said that he had learned his trade with old building firm in Echuca, W W (William Watson) Moore & Sons. It is very likely that his brothers also did apprenticeships there as well. The company built a range of buildings in Echuca and district and this exposure to the building trade in their teenage years would have lasting effect on all three. George, the youngest, appeared to have stayed with schooling as later his trade was given a ‘clerk’.
By 1910, the family had moved to the new town of Sunshine, named in 1907 in honour of industrialist Hugh Victor McKay who had developed a factory there in 1904 which became known as the Sunshine Harvester Works. The new factory attracted many new families in 1909-1910. It was to become the largest (agricultural) manufacturing plant in Australia, employing at its peak more than 3,000 people.
Sunshine Harvester Works, 1910
(Collections Museum Victoria)
(Collections Museum Victoria)
The evident attraction of employment opportunities in either the factory or in work in the district associated with it was almost certainly the catalyst for the move. The knowledge of this may well have come through Janet Montgomery’s late husband’s uncle, John Simmie, who had taken up a Sunshine Harvester Company agency at Elmore in 1906. By 1910 however the McKay Harvester Works was well known across the state. John Montgomery’s youngest son from his first marriage, Albert Reid (‘Bert’) Montgomery, became an apprentice wood machinist at McKay’s in 1910.
When a major strike by unionised workers at McKay’s in early 1911 got underway, ‘football was one of the activities that kept going’. The local Sunshine football team included both Jock Simmie and Bill Simmie – the team went on to win the premiership that year. Later, in 1913, the football club (now the Sunshine-Braybrook Football Club), went on to win the premiership again. In that team were both Bill and Jock Simmie, as well as Bert Montgomery – and John Montgomery as a team manager. Jock Simmie was also involved in the local cricket team as was John Montgomery, and, no doubt, Jock’s brothers as well.
Jock Simmie, Sunshine-Braybrook Football Club, c 1911
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
Jock Simmie, (seated L) and John Montgomery (standing L),
Sunshine District Cricket Club, c 1911
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
At Sunshine, the Montgomerys and family took up residence in a rented concrete house in Ridley Street, provided by McKay’s as part of the McKay ‘factory town’ estate developed by the industrialist to house the workers. ‘Each allotment was big enough for a small orchard and also allowed room for keeping fowls’. Janet and John Montgomery lived there until 1924, and after a few years at Kensington in Melbourne, returned to 1 Kororoit Road in Sunshine in 1928 where they lived until their deaths in 1954 and 1951 respectively. During the period in Melbourne, John Montgomery’s son Albert lived in the house with his sister Violet Christina Montgomery, also a machinist at the McKay factory.
1914
George Simmie enlists in 1st AIF, assigned to 4th Artillery Battery
George Herbert Simmie on enlistment 1914
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
When war was declared by Britain against Germany in August 1914, Australia automatically followed. Patriotic fever swept the country and Sunshine was no exception. The Sunshine Harvester Works sprang into action to produce 200 wagons, 23 ambulances and 150 water carts in the first four weeks of the war. In that first flush of war fever, 35 employees from the Harvester offices in Australia and Argentina enlisted, including in Sunshine, Albert (‘Bert’) Reid Montgomery. George Herbert Simmie, Bert’s stepbrother, also immediately enlisted in Sunshine; both were 19.
George gave his trade on enlistment as ‘clerk’. He was sent to the 4th Field Artillery Battery (FAB), in the 2nd FA Brigade of the 1st Australian Division. The unit arrived in Egypt in late 1914. The brigade was then deployed to Lemnos at Gallipoli, with the 4th FAB having one of its field guns landed at Anzac Cove and firing by 6 PM on 25 April 1915; others followed. George’s service record does not notate Gallipoli or ANZAC – in fact there is a complete gap in his records between landing in Egypt and landing in France. But there is one telling entry – ‘Joined MEF 8/4/15’. The MEF or Mediterranean Expeditionary Force became the synonym for Gallipoli, and 2nd FA Brigade including 4th FAB embarked for Gallipoli on 8 April 1915.
When the Gallipoli campaign ended in failure, George then served in France as a driver-gunner.
1915
Jock Simmie enlists, assigned to 21st Infantry Battalion. Both George and Jock serve at Gallipoli
J E Simmie 1917
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
Jock followed in 1915. He enlisted into the 21st Infantry Battalion, aged 22 and with his trade as carpenter, on 21 January. The 21st Battalion of the 6th Brigade was part of the newly raised 2nd Division. In late August 1915 it was deployed to Gallipoli, just missing the major August offensive there which had ended in failure. The transport ship bringing the unit to Gallipoli, HMT Southland, was torpedoed off the island of Lemnos – it sank, but slowly, allowing almost all aboard, including Jock Simmie, to get ashore safely. The battalion landed at Gallipoli in early September 1915. Fortunately for Jock, it was a relatively quiet time, although Turkish artillery and snipers as well as poor sanitary conditions still led to many casualties. The campaign had ground to a stalemate and with winter on the way it was decided to withdraw from Gallipoli. In a remarkable deception campaign, the Allied forces successfully evacuated over 130,000 men by 20 December 1915. The men of the 21st Battalion were among the last infantry to leave, Jock among them. He was promoted to Sergeant soon after.
1916
Jock Simmie wounded at Pozières in France – was discharged in Melbourne in June 1917
Like his brother George, Jock was redeployed to France with his battalion after some training and recuperation in Egypt, arriving in March 1916. In July 1916, the 6th Brigade was committed to the Battle of Pozières. The 21st Battalion was assigned to porterage duties in the leadup to the attack, engaged on building defence works and ‘fatigues’ – the demanding manual working parties needed to prepare for battle – as well as training in grenade and bayonet fighting, checking equipment and so on. On 29 July, the battalion moved into the front line trenches and relieved sister battalions in the front line. The war diary of the 21st Battalion noted that ‘enemy’s artillery very active’ but does not record the casualties that day or the next.
However, Jock Simmie, was a casualty - with a shrapnel would to his right thigh on 30 July. He was evacuated to England and spent almost nine months in hospitals recovering – his war was over. He was returned to Australia and discharged in June 1917. It is not known whether the brothers had an opportunity to meet up in the brief time that they were both in France; coincidentally 4th FAB was in support of the infantry at Pozières that week of Jock’s wounding. Jock would walk with a limp for the rest of his life.
J E Simmie
Recovering from wounds 1916
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
1917
George wounded at Ypres in Belgium, Bill Simmie enlists, assigned to 24th Infantry Battalion in France
On 2 August 1917 George was wounded in action with a gunshot wound to both thighs during the Third Battle of Ypres in Belgium. Months of recuperation at the 1st Birmingham War Hospital followed. On leave afterwards he then contracted a dose of venereal disease - both gonorrhea and syphilis - in May 1918, leading to a further month in hospital. Such VD occurrence were common to soldiers at the time. George Simmie was entitled then to home leave as an original 1914 enlistee and the end of the war was at hand – he was discharged in March 1919 in Melbourne and returned to Sunshine. As late as January 1919 he noted to his doctor that there was still a fragment in his left thigh. His wounds both self-inflicted, and inflicted on him, contributed to his premature death in 1944.
Jock’s return to Victoria may have given William (Bill) James Simmie his turn to enlist in the knowledge that one brother was arriving home to look after their mother in Sunshine. Another reason was that in June 1916 as we have seen, his estate had been sequestered the year before – Bill was broke. Aged 26, giving his trade as carpenter, Bill enlisted on 7 May 1917. He was sent to France via training in England, joining his unit as reinforcements to the 24th Infantry Battalion in late November 1917. The 24th Battalion was, like Jock Simmie’s 21st Battalion, part of 6th Brigade of the 2nd Division AIF. Like the 21st it had been at Gallipoli and was the battalion relieved by 21st Battalion at Pozières the day Jock was wounded.
1918
Bill Simmie wounded four times, three times by gas
By March 1918, the 24th Battalion was in the line near Messines. The German spring offensive got underway on 21 March. The unit war diary tells the story – ‘From 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. …heavily bombarded by the enemy with gas shells, it being estimated that 5000 shells …were fired into an area of 10 acres. Serious casualties…were caused to A & D companies which were billeted in dugouts…- two men were killed and 36-45 [were affected] by gas’. By the end of the day, the diary went on to say, ‘7 officers and 212 men were evacuated, most with eye trouble’. One of the serious cases which were evacuated, returning to England for treatment, was Bill Simmie. He rejoined his unit in France nearly four months later, in mid July 1918.
Bill was to be wounded twice more – gassed again in July 1918 and hospitalised for two months and then suffering a gunshot wound to his right arm in heavy fighting at Montbrehain during the Battle of St. Quentin Canal in October 1918, just before the end of the hostilities.
1919
George discharged in Melbourne in March 1919
Bill returned to Melbourne January 1919, discharged in June
Bill marries Constance (‘Connie’) Lillingston
Jock president of the Sunshine RS&SILA and begins work at Office of the Auditor-General in Melbourne
Bill Simmie was returned to Australia, in January 1919 and was discharged to also return to Sunshine in June 1919. The three brothers together again after several years, all wounded veterans and no doubt nursing the long term psychological effects of their war experiences. Now they faced the challenge of adjusting back to civilian life and deciding where they would go from there. It would take them several years to put the building blocks in place for the next stage of their lives. All three started their lives again as carpenters. In Jock’s case however, as he had returned in 1917 while his brothers were both serving in France, he was able to secure employment from 25 August 1918 with the Office of the Auditor-General in Melbourne, initially working from Victoria Barracks, Melbourne.
According to a later biographical vignette, Jock Simmie moved to this work while ‘still on crutches’, recovering from his war wound. Electoral rolls place him in Sunshine until at least 1921, and it is known that Jock served as president of the Sunshine Branch of the newly established Returned Soldiers & Sailors Imperial League of Australia (RS&SILA) in 1919. So, it is likely that he was able to secure new work in 1918 which later led him to Melbourne through the Repatriation Department, created in September 1917 to provide support for returned and especially disabled soldiers – as a wounded veteran of Gallipoli and the Western Front he would certainly have received help. Nonetheless, how Jock came to work there and why he went remains unknown, but we have some anecdotal insights:
The story goes that his supervising officer, Colonel Lang [Ling], asked him about his career plans. Jock replied that when fit enough he’d become a builder. The Colonel is quoted as saying ‘Well my advice to you is to study accountancy while you are here with us, because no matter what you do later, it will stand you in good stead’.
By 1922 he was described in electoral rolls as a ‘public servant’ with an address in Mitchell Street, Caulfield. That year Jock moved to qualify for formal accounting and company secretary credentials. In May 1922 he was recorded as one of hundreds who passed the Commonwealth Institute of Accountants final exams. In December 1922 Jock also passed the examination for the Degree of Associate (Parts I & II) set by the Australian Institute of Secretaries for joint stock companies and other public bodies.
George Simmie found that it wasn’t an easy transition: he struggled. In October 1921 he applied, not for the first time, for Government assistance under the Repatriation Department’s Industrial Scheme. George, a clerk on enlistment, was employed as a carpenter – he’s been given assistance under the scheme for working tools to get started and sustenance of over £200. His first application was for training which he commenced at Swinburne Technical School as a wood worker in May 1919. He hadn’t done so well. ‘Placed in employment under the Scheme as a carpenter … on 22/10/19, 40% efficient. Transferred from that employment on the recommendation of the Soldiers’ Industrial Committee and commenced in the employ of Mr W Simmie [Bill Simmie], 17/11/20.’ By October 1921 he was deemed to be 90% efficient but a further period of six weeks’ training was approved.
By this time, it appeared that Bill Simmie had settled down relatively easily, with family and a working trade sufficient for him to take George under his wing in 1920. By 1924 the brothers had stabilised sufficient to establish a building company – Simmie & Co. Registered by George, as William had a legal impediment holding him up and Jock still employed with the Office of the Auditor-General. It was not long before all three brothers were engaged in the enterprise.
1920
Roy William Simmie born to Bill and Connie
1921
Jock Simmie marries Ivy Eliza Ann Joyce – daughter Joyce Shirley Simmie born the same year
1923
John Ernest (‘Jack’ aka ‘Black Jack’) Simmie born to Bill and Connie
1925
John Ernest (‘Red Jack’) Simmie born to Jock and Ivy Simmie
1926
Jock Simmie and family move to Canberra to establish Simmie & Co
1927
George Simmie marries Eileen Mann
1928
Jock Simmie builds his home at 5 Baudin Street, Forrest, Canberra
Ivy Simmie in the Canberra environment
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
When Jock and Ivy moved to Canberra in 1926, they took with them their two children Joyce Shirley Simmie aged five, and John Ernest Simmie aged just one. John was called ‘Red Jack’ to differentiate him from his cousin, also John Ernest, who was ‘Black Jack’. When Jock and Ivy and the children returned to Melbourne in 1931 Ivy was able to rely on house help to manage the household and the children. Jock Simmie was away as much as at home managing his growing business in Canberra and also working closely with his brother Bill in Melbourne. He would travel to Canberra by train and later, years after World War Two, started to fly commercially.
In May 1928 Jock Simmie became a member of the Canberra sub-branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia (RS&SILA – later the Returned Services League (RSL). Ivy Simmie also joined the Ladies Auxiliary as soon as it was formed, in March 1930. Jock and Ivy also saw opportunities to join the small coterie of influential persons in Canberra by joining the Canberra Golf Club in 1927 – they were noted as playing in a mixed fours game led by the Prime Minister following the opening of the first nine holes of the club’s new course in November that year. Ivy was also a keen tennis player and joined in the Eastlake Tennis Club’s opening tournament in March 1928.
The suburb of Forrest, named in 1928, contained the ‘Blandfordia 4 Housing Precinct’ (which includes Arthur Circle and 5 Baudin Street, where Jock Simmie lived to 1931); and now includes several heritage-listed properties. The precinct itself was registered for heritage listing in 2007, and although that did not occur, it is worth describing why that was proposed and how that application in 2007 helps to explain why Jock Simmie both lived there himself, built numerous residences there, and made so many connections essential to his ever-expanding business:
The original housing designs were all by professional architects, including many of Canberra’s most notable architects, along with architects of renown from elsewhere in Australia…..The precinct is also remarkable for its …..strong associations with Australia’s political, administrative, economic, intellectual, and cultural history since the first residents moved in in 1926. ….Adjacent to the present ‘embassy belt’, this neighbourhood housed the first British High Commissioner and numerous other foreign diplomats…..The Blandfordia 4 Housing Precinct was also home to prominent architects and builders, to political journalists, and to a number of Cabinet ministers. There are close associations with three prime ministers,,,,
Advertising residential sites in Blandfordia 1928
(National Library of Australia)
(National Library of Australia)
In early 1929 a Canberra Men’s Hockey Association - it became the Federal Capital Hockey Association (FCHA) was formed and Jock Simmie joined the FCHA committee as a Vice-President. Ivy Simmie kept herself busy with activities in the Horticultural Society, entering the best garden competition but without success. Golf continued; Jock donated a trophy for a competition in April 1931.
1929
Jock Simmie admitted to Capitol Lodge 612 of the Uniting Grand Lodge of NSW
Esmond’s Garages Ltd (later Esmond Motors) registered in Queanbeyan, NSW – Jock Simmie a director.
In 1929 Jock also moved forward with his Masonic interests. On 6 March 1929 Jock was admitted to the Capitol Lodge 612 of the Uniting Grand Lodge of NSW. The Lodge operated in Queanbeyan.Jock Simmie also got involved with other business opportunities, perhaps in part due to the downturn in construction work as Canberra’s economy slowed with reduced Government expenditure and the effects of the Great Depression were quickly felt in Canberra. In May 1929 he and two others registered the company of Esmond’s Garages Ltd with a nominal capital of £30,000 in 20,000 ordinary shares and 10,000 preferential shares of £1 each. With head office in Queanbeyan NSW, Esmond’s was established to ‘carry on as manufacturers, engineers and as agents for motor cars, cycles and aircraft’.
The company was named after fellow director and founder John Esmond, ‘one of the best-known Identities of Canberra and Queanbeyan during the construction days of the national capital’. Esmond’s continued as a very successful motor dealer, holding the General Motors (and Holden) franchise for the ACT. Following the departure of John Esmond from the business in 1940, Jock Simmie appeared to control the company.
Shirley Simmie born to George and Eileen
1931 - 1935
George Simmie leaves Simmie & Co for new business to start-up the Colonial Spark Plug Co
Jock Simmie admitted as a Royal Arch Mason in Canberra of the Australian Chapter No 87
Jock Simmie re-settles family in Melbourne in 1931; he continues to travel to Canberra every third week
Jock Simmie becomes investor in Civic Theatre Ltd in Canberra 1935
Jock also ramped up his Masonic activities by also becoming a Royal Arch Mason on 6 February 1931 at a meeting in Canberra of the Australian Chapter No 87. Another new business opportunity for Jock Simmie arose at the end of 1931. A new Companies Ordinance was passed in Canberra and the second company to be registered under its provisions was the Civic Theatre Limited. Jock Simmie joined a group of three other investors as a director in the new company, which issued a prospectus for a new and modern sound film theatre to be constructed in Canberra City which would seat 1100 patrons - with capital of £20,000 in £1 shares.
At the same time as the announcement of this new venture, the Simmies put their six-bedroom villa in 5 Baudin Street, Forrest, where they had lived since 1928, with tennis court and ‘garden well-laid out’, up for sale.
The Simmies had decided to relocate to Melbourne and Jock would start spending less time in Canberra. The main reason was the death in Melbourne of Ivy Simmie’s mother, Emily Joyce, as much as the downturn in business in Canberra. Jock was close to his in-laws and no doubt Ivy was concerned for her father Jack. Jock and Ivy went to live with Jack Joyce at Martin Street, Elwood from 1931 until August 1935; Jack Joyce never remarried. Jock and Ivy Simmie then moved to the house Jock built at 42 Halifax (on the corner of Hall) Street, Brighton following his purchase of the block in November 1934. Jock’s parents, Janet and John Montgomery had already returned to Sunshine in retirement.
Flyer for the Weatherly Estate sale in 1934
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
House at Halifax Street, Brighton
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
The house was on a double block and had a tennis court. Ivy Simmie’s father Jack Joyce went with them. Ivy wanted for nothing, including a full-time live-in home help.
Before the Dance, Lorne 1930s
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
Once Jock and Ivy with son John and daughter Joyce had returned to Melbourne from Canberra in 1931, they often went to Lorne on the Great Ocean Road (it had opened in 1924), with other family members and other holidaymakers and guests to that area. Large groups would gather at Erskine House (guesthouse since 1877); Lorne was a fashionable place to go and be seen. Jock had purchased some land in the lower Dandenong Ranges near Emerald and also was a keen member with Ivy of the Emerald Country Club and its golfing fraternity and was noted as Club Captain on New Year’s Day in 1940. Once Jock purchased the historic Harpsdale property in 1940, his land in Emerald was superfluous and the Club too far away to travel just for golf. Visits to Lorne however, given the travel arrangements to get there and back alone, would have made them especially anticipated by all the family.
Esmond’s Garages Ltd become Esmond’s Motors Ltd
Esmond’s Garages Ltd was reconstituted in 1935 as Esmond’s Motors Ltd. with a branch in both Queanbeyan and in Canberra. The new company saw Jock Simmie continue as a major shareholder and director, registering capital of £30,000 divided into 20,000 £1 shares and 10,000 cumulative preference shares, also £1 each.
John, Ivy and Joyce Simmie, 1936
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
1937
Jock continued to develop his connections
Director of Capital Motors Ltd in Manuka, Canberra and FCT Investments Ltd
In July 1937 came Capital Motors Limited, in the suburb of Manuka, with a capital of £15,000, which later advertising described as a sub-dealer of Esmond’s Motors (Canberra). Jock was listed as the first signatory, and another was Gwilym Thomas Evans, a prominent Canberra accountant, who was also a director of Esmond’s Motors. The Manuka service station completed in 1938 and leased by Capital Motors, was designed by M J Moir. It was a consortium led by Moir and which included G T Evans, which had won the lease of the site, for 99 years. In a cover-all, the objects of Capital Motors were described as
…..the business of manufacturers, engineers, agents, dealers, or hirers, repairers, storers [storemen], and warehousemen of automobiles, motor cars, motor lorries, aeroplanes and other commercial vehicles and all machinery, accessories, and other appliances capable of being used therewith.
In September 1937 came FCT [Federal Capital Territory] Investments Limited, with share capital of £15,000; and the same signatories as Capital Motors. This company described its objectives as ‘…..to purchase and otherwise acquire real or personal property of any description and to acquire, hold and deal in freehold, house and land property’.
On another level altogether, Jock continued to develop his Masonic cum veteran connections. In Canberra, he was a founding member of the Remembrance Mark Lodge 133.
J E Simmie Masonic medal, Remembrance Mark Lodge 133
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
J E Simmie Masonic medallion, Lodge 519, 1936
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
In Melbourne, Jock Simmie was also a foundation member of the establishment of the Masonic Peace & Commemoration Lodge 519 in 1936, centred around the Shrine.
In 1937, Jock Simmie became a Fellow of the Association of Cost Accountants of Australia.
He also invested in two new companies in Canberra. In July 1937 came Capital Motors Limited, in the suburb of Manuka, with a capital of £15,000, which later advertising described as a sub-dealer of Esmond’s Motors (Canberra). Jock was listed as the first signatory, and another was Gwilym Thomas Evans, a prominent Canberra accountant, who was also a director of Esmond’s Motors. The Manuka service station completed in 1938 and was leased by Capital Motors, for 99 years. In a cover-all, the objects of Capital Motors were described as:
…..the business of manufacturers, engineers, agents, dealers, or hirers, repairers, storers [storemen], and warehousemen of automobiles, motor cars, motor lorries, aeroplanes and other commercial vehicles and all machinery, accessories, and other appliances capable of being used therewith.
In September came FCT [Federal Capital Territory] Investments Limited, with share capital of £15,000, and the same signatories as Capital Motors. This company described its objectives as ‘…..to purchase and otherwise acquire real or personal property of any description and to acquire, hold and deal in freehold, house and land property’.
An amusing story at Jock Simmie’s expense brought 1937 to an end. He was playing golf at Kingston Heath Golf Club in Cheltenham, Victoria, shortly before Christmas. The club was even then regarded as one of the best golf clubs in Australia and not far from his new home in Brighton. The Argus takes up the story:
The tranquillity of the links was disturbed by the rampages of a mad cow. "Strawberry" had broken through a fence and was standing in front of the 14th green with evil thoughts in her mind when "Jock" Simmie hailed two committee-men ….who were standing on the 15th tee, facetiously demanding that they should officially remove the bovine stymie. He had scarcely spoken when the cow charged Simmie's partner, Keith Howe, and then turned its attention to Simmie. Simmie, who is very lame as a result of a war injury, had not run for more than 20 years, but those who were present said that his sprint would have earned him a place in the Empire Games team had the selectors been present. An unceremonious dive into a deep bunker saved him from further attentions from the cow.
Almost counter-intuitively, even after Ivy had relocated to Melbourne Jock remained a member of the Canberra Horticultural Society and contributed a ‘a handsome bowl’ as a perpetual trophy for the ‘most successful member exhibitor of vegetables at the principal exhibitions’. This appears to be another example of Jock’s ability to mix with all types of people but also see the networking opportunity in a simple bowl; some very influential people were members of that Society.
Almost counter-intuitively, even after Ivy had relocated to Melbourne Jock remained a member of the Canberra Horticultural Society and contributed a ‘a handsome bowl’ as a perpetual trophy for the ‘most successful member exhibitor of vegetables at the principal exhibitions’. This appears to be another example of Jock’s ability to mix with all types of people but also see the networking opportunity in a simple bowl; some very influential people were members of that Society.
1940
Jock Simmie a foundation member of the Canberra branch of the Commonwealth Institute of Accountants
In April 1940, Jock Simmie became a foundation member of the newly inaugurated Canberra branch of the Commonwealth Institute of Accountants
Jock Simmie purchases ‘Harpsdale’, near Craigieburn north-east of Melbourne
By the late 1930s Jock Simmie had started acquiring land northwest of Melbourne as he looked to his future. He had purchased some land near Emerald (he was noted as the Captain of the Emerald Country Club in 1940), but in 1940 he purchased ‘Harpsdale’, an historic property near Craigieburn and Sunshine. His mother and John Montgomery had moved back to Sunshine in 1928. In October 1941 Jock and Ivy moved to Harpsdale, selling their Brighton home in October 1941 for £3,725, supposedly for what it cost him to build.
Jock Simmie’s son, John Ernest (Red Jack) starts work at Harpsdale
1944
George Simmie dies, Brighton
George Herbert Simmie, the youngest of the three Simmie brothers, died prematurely on 19 December 1944, in Brighton. His occupation was noted as ‘metal merchant’. His cause of death, liver failure, suggested heavy drinking as a possible cause with war trauma as a contributing factor to his early demise along with the arsenic-based treatments for his self-inflicted wounds in World War One. George’s wife Eileen outlived him by nearly 20 years. They had a daughter, Shirley who died a spinster in 2005. According to Jock’s grandson Richard, George was never mentioned as he grew up and the three brothers rarely socialised:
My father’s [John Ernest Simmie’s] 21st birthday is key in telling who was not there [including] his uncle Wm. and family (Connie, Roy and Jack), Janet Montgomery (paternal grandmother) nor his uncle George’s wife, Eileen and daughter, Shirley. The only time I knew of Shirley’s existence was when my father told me she had died in 2005. My father occasionally spoke about Jock’s war story but never mentioned George’s.
George of course had left Simmie and Co in 1931 to pursue his own business interests. Whatever the reason for George’s absence the essential blood relations and shared experiences of the brothers’ early years and especially of World War One would still have kept them close, even if they saw less of each other over time. Nonetheless, less is known of George than either of his older siblings. He died more than two years before his nephew John Ernest Simmie’s 21st birthday in 1946.
1944 – 1946
Douglas Joyce
Douglas Joyce, Royal Australian Navy Reserve, World War Two from June 1944-September 1946, as a Sub-Lieutenant.
Born on 5 March 1926, Douglas was the son of Gladys and Leslie Joyce
(R J Simmie Collection)
1947
Jock Simmie admitted to Broadmeadows Lodge 564
Jock Simmie admitted as Fellow, The Chartered Institute of Secretaries
(R J Simmie Collection)
Jock Simmie’s son, John Ernest, marries Jean Gamble on 5 May 1949 and they move to ‘Belmont’
1949
Marriage of John Simmie and Jean Gamble
(L to R) Edward Alexander Clarke Gamble (Jean’s younger brother), Mavis Millar (lifelong friend from age 6) John Ernest Simmie, Jean Elizabeth Gamble, Joyce Shirley Simmie, & James Webster (best man)
Marriage party of John and Jean Simmie on 5 March 1949
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
1950
Peter John Simmie born 21 April 1950, son of John Ernest & Jean
1951
John Ford Montgomery dies 6 August 1951, Sunshine
1952
Philip Edward Simmie born 10 April 1952, 2nd son of John Ernest & Jean Simmie
Three generations of the Simmie family at Harpsdale, 1952: Jock Simmie (standing), Ivy Simmie
(seated right), Jean Simmie (seated middle), John Simmie (seated left), Joyce Simmie (seated on ground) and son Peter Simmie.
(Expanding Horizons, 1952)
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
Jock Simmie was hit hard by Ivy’s death. He would spend many hours afterwards sitting and smoking his pipe on an old the redwood stump in the workshop shed by the main house.
1953
Jock Simmie admitted as Associate in the Australian Society of Accountants
(R J Simmie Collection)
1954
Jock Simmie’s daughter Joyce marries Edward ('Ted') Gamble 14 February 1954
Marriage of Edward (‘Ted’) Alexander Clarke Gamble to Joyce Shirley Simmie 14 February 1954. Image taken on the steps of St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Essendon. Ted Gamble was Jean Simmie’s (née Gamble) younger brother. The reception was held at Harpsdale, with a marquee on the south lawn.
(R J Simmie Collection)
Janet Montgomery, mother of Bill, Jock and George Simmie, dies 19 March 1954 in Sunshine
Richard James Simmie born 16 October 1954, 3rd son of John Ernest & Jean Simmie
1956
‘Kiloran’ holiday home purchased at Mt Martha
Kiloran, Mt Martha 1960s
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
A holiday house (called ‘Kiloran’) was purchased on the Esplanade at Mt Martha, about 70 kilometres south east of Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, and just a short distance from the local beaches. The purchase included a beach bathing box. Kiloran, until its sale in 1970, remains a strong positive memory for all of those involved but especially the three sons of John Simmie. Peter Simmie, the eldest recalls: ‘Getting up 5am of a morning and exploring the cliffs along the beach with my brother Philip. Our mother making sardine and tomato sandwiches for lunch on the beach. Going out fishing in the boat and nearly always getting the hand line tangled’.
Richard Simmie’s memories are acute. He recalls:
It was to be the place of my best childhood memories as we would spend all of January each year. We stopped going in the late 1960s. Family friends, Mavis and Joan Millar would spend most of January with us. They had a big dark blue Dodge car which we children would help them polish during the holidays. Jock allowed various cousins of his in Elmore and Bendigo to use the house throughout the year but Christmas was our time. Trips up to Arthur’s Seat and taking the chair lift were great highlights in the Dodge.
At the beach. L to R: Jean Simmie, Mavis Millar, John Simmie under boat shed, Joyce Gamble née Simmie, Edward ‘Ted’ Gamble, and three boys Richard, Philip and Peter. Joan Millar was taking the photograph.
(R J Simmie Collection)
John (‘Red Jack’) Simmie at the BBQ, Mt Martha c1950s
(R J Simmie Collection)
The three brothers, Peter, Philip and Richard c1956
(R J Simmie Collection)
1957
Esmond’s Motors acquired by Commonwealth Motors
Jock Simmie’s interest in Esmond’s Motors saw some evolutions following the acquisition of the firm by Commonwealth Motors in 1957. Commonwealth Motors was established in Canberra in 1953 by Wright Brothers London Ltd (itself established in 1895) and with the acquisition of Esmond’s Motors, became the General Motors (and later Holden) dealers in the ACT, as well as for Pontiac, Chevrolet and Bedford. In 1961 they opened Lyneham Motors to support the growth in that dealership. At the time of the acquisition, one of Esmond’s directors – Edward George Stubington – moved to the new firm as its manager.
Somewhat presciently, and perhaps arising from the death of the founder of Esmond’s Motors the year before, Jock Simmie (5241 paid up shares), reached an agreement with Stubington (185 shares) in 1955 that if Esmond’s were liquidated or sold to a third party or the shares transferred, he would share the difference in the price of the shares equally with Stubington, ‘as his and my rightful share of the appreciated value and goodwill of Esmond’s Motors’. By this time Jock Simmie was well established in his farm in Victoria bought in 1940 and spending increasingly less time in Canberra. The accounts for Esmond’s in June 1956 showed a net profit of £17,496. As Jock Simmie looked to be the majority shareholder in Esmond’s at the time of the acquisition the following year by Commonwealth Motors, his investment in Edmond’s paid off. By that time Stubington, who by then had been a director with Esmond’s for 29 years, also profited from Jock Simmie’s generosity.
Mavis Millar, Richard Simmie, Philip Simmie, Joyce Gamble (F),
Peter Simmie and Jean Simmie (back) at ‘Cooinda’, 1957-58
(R J Simmie Collection)
1959
Jock Simmie assists board of Tomlins-Simmie Co to stabilise business; made a director
The Tomlin-Simmie flour mill had been started up by Jock Simmie’s uncle John Simmie (1860-1950) in 1912 at Bendigo and later John was joined by his brother George (1862-1937). By the 1920s the company had interests in Richmond in Melbourne. The company had passed to George’s children, including William James, Flora (‘Flo’), Ann and George. With the death of William in 1958, the less experienced directors began to struggle, and the company was soon in financial trouble. In January 1959 Jock Simmie was asked by Flo Simmie to help her as a director of Tomlins-Simmie Flour to sort out the business and get it back on track. Jock Simmie helped out and presumably became a director in doing so. The company was later bought out by Robert Hutchinson & Co of Glenroy in 1972.
Jock Simmie’s aunt, Mary Irons dies at Echuca aged 94
1960 - 61
Bill Simmie’s son Roy made a director of Simmie & Co
1962
Peter Simmie starts at Haileybury College
1965
Philip Simmie starts at Haileybury College
Jock Simmie retires from Simmie & Co but continues to travel to Canberra for the company
1968
Jock Simmie dies 13 August 1968, in Essendon
(R J Simmie Collection)
John Ernest ‘Jock’ Simmie died on 13 August 1968 in Melbourne and his ashes were added to Ivy Simmie’s grave at Fawkner Cemetery. He was listed in Australia’s Who’s Who which gave a potted summary of his official life in 1968:
F.A.I.B., A.A.S.A., F.C.I.S.,F.A.C.A., Past president Master Builders’ Assn., Breeder Dorset Horn Sheep: son of J. Simmie, Moama, N.S.W.; ed. Echuca State Sch.; Dir. Simmie & Co. Pty. Ltd. Master Builders; Gov. Dir. Tomlins Simmie Pty. Ltd.; 2 yrs. 21 Bn. 1St A.I.F, Gallipoli & France, wounded Pozieres 1916; Pres. 21 Bn. Assn.; m. Apr. 2, 1920, Ivy, d. J. J. Joyce, 1 s. 1 d.; recreations, golf, racing; clubs, Canberra, Commonwealth (Canb.), R. S. L. (Caulfield), R.A.C.V., C.T.A., Kingston Heath Golf, Roy. Canberra Golf, V.R.C., M.V.R.C., address, Harpsdale, Yuroke, Vic.,3047.
1970
‘Kiloran’ sold to meet probate on Jock Simmie’s estate
John and Jean Simmie move into ‘Harpsdale’ from Belmont
1971
Peter Simmie marries Robyn Abbey; they move into ‘Troodos’
1972
Richard Simmie completes Haileybury College; accepted to University of Melbourne for Medicine
1973
Peter Simmie and family move from ‘Troodos’ into ‘Belmont’
After a very large storm which hit the property in December 1973 and caused quite a bit of damage, but what insurance money was earmarked for house repairs was spent on the farm.
Images of the storm damage December 1973
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
1977
Philip Simmie marries Ailsa Mason 13 August 1977
1978
Richard Simmie admitted to the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Melbourne, the first in his family to attend university.
(R J Simmie Collection)
1981
Joyce Simmie dies
Joyce’s unexpected diagnosis with cancer in late October 1980 led to her premature death in July 1981. She was sorely missed by Jean Simmie and other family members. Joyce was admired as ‘intelligent, sharp minded, a straight shooter and always up for a challenge in any conversation.’ Her ashes were scattered at ‘Cooinda’, her marital home.
1982
Water for the Harpsdale house and garden
In addition to stock needs, the household needed water for domestic use and for the garden. A bore had been sunk in the 1920s near the house which was a good producer but of water with a high saline content, to the point that watering in the summer resulted in garden leaves dying due to the heat and salty water. In 1982, Jean Simmie was supplied dam water for her garden rather than the bore water. The bore was dismantled and capped with a concrete plug.
1985
Richard Simmie qualifies as specialist anaesthetist
(R J Simmie Collection)
Harpsdale - By the mid-1980s there were recurring leaks from the slate roof which was in desperate need of repairs or replacing. The slate roof was replaced in early 1999.
1986
Bill Simmie dies.
1988
Bill Simmie’s wife Connie dies.
The three Simmie brothers – Peter, Philip and Richard March 1989.
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
Philip Simmie moves to Queensland with family
1993 - 1997
Harpsdale Repairs
Richard Simmie started to gradually make repairs at Harpsdale largely at his own expense from mid-1993. The first thing done was to replace the finial above the verandah entrance to the house, which involved removal of veranda lace work for sand blasting and painting.
In 1995 there were veranda repairs. In February 1996 a small section of the main hallway ceiling gave way, damaging the hall table that stood between the two doors of the sitting room. That was a simple insurance claim to repair both ceiling and hall table.
By 1997 Richard had installed some basic watering systems for the garden and made up the Significant Tree label for the heritage Bhutan Cypress (cupressus cashmeriana), believed to be one of the original plantings by the Brodies in the 19th Century.
National Trust Register notice, Harpsdale
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
1998 - 2002
Harpsdale repairs and renovations
in April 1998, a large section of the dining room ceiling gave way damaging the table and one dining room chair. Jean Simmie had, only moments before, been sitting at that very spot. Fortuitously she got up and returned to the kitchen just before she heard the crash of the ceiling collapsing. The table and chair were repaired under insurance, and after a long battle with the insurance company, the ceiling as well.
The slate roof was becoming a major issue. Richard engaged a conservation architect, Arthur Andronas, for opinions on the slate roof. In the 1960s the roof over the master bedroom and the rear bedroom had been replaced with iron. On Andronas’ advice, Richard had the whole roof removed and related in early 1999.. This major project was completed in February 1999.
To complement this work, in October that year, the kitchen chimneystack, from which the render had fallen off decades before, was completely rebuilt to match the original. It was rebuilt by hand, which in Richard’s own words, was ‘a truly great piece of craftsmanship’ – it was finished in a different coloured render to show it had been restored.
Roofing nails 1875, Servant Bell Pulley 1875
and marbles from the garden found during renovations 1998
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
Installation of a hydronic heating system for the house, fired by a Parson wood-fired boiler to replace the expensive to run LPG boiler, was completed in 2002, along with a new garage door to replace the original wooden doors which had rotted away over the years. A garden designer was engaged to plan the new garden, but the plan was not suitable for dry conditions.
2001
John Ernest Simmie Retires
John Simmie sells land that the children do not want to keep to fund his retirement. Richard retained Harpsdale and the land around the dam.
2004 - 2015
Richard Simmie works in private practice
Harpsdale – Floor Plan 1941-2004
(R J Simmie)
(R J Simmie)
Harpsdale – Wertheim Pianola
In October 2004 Richard’s 50th birthday party saw the arrival of the restored pianola which had belonged to Ivy Simmie, and it was part of family sing-alongs over many years. However, by 2003, the player part wasn’t working, and the woodwork (American burr walnut) was lifting in areas. It was sent off to be fully restored over 12 months and finally arrived back on the very day of the party.
Restored pianola, 2004
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
2003 – 2006
Harpsdale more renovations and restorations
Building on early restoration works undertaken by Richard Simmie before his father retired in 2001, early in 2003 discussions around the renovation of Harpsdale itself began. The old laundry, main bathroom and billiards room were in a sorry state of repairs. Richard set about designing the new laundry, bathroom and living room that would replace the old billiards room and open up the kitchen into a modern living space, thus bringing the house into the 21st century. He engaged a local builder. Demolition of the billiards room started in December 2003 and the renovations started in earnest in March 2004. They took until December that year to complete.
Jock Simmie smoking pipes and cigarette tins.
The broken pipe heads and the intact pipe was found during renovations in 2004
(R J Simmie Collection)
The broken pipe heads and the intact pipe was found during renovations in 2004
(R J Simmie Collection)
The new extension replaced the derelict billiards room with a large living space, connected to the kitchen with the added benefit of making the house far more comfortable and liveable for John and Jean in their later years. The billiards room was separated from the rear of the house by a courtyard, dated from the 1920s; the billiards table dated from 1918. The renovations included installing a second bathroom, replacing the existing laundry and the main bathroom. While this was underway there was landscaping of the immediate areas around the house and the first purchase of artwork for the garden – a birdbath by Folko Kooper Tasmania.
The living space which replaced the old billiards room in 2004.
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
Further renovations, finally completed by May 2005, included reinstatement of the original driveway through the park after extensive damage to existing driveway following a ‘weather event’ of 186 mm rain in 32 hours. Next was to put in a swimming pool, which was completed in November 2006. That year windows were installed in the stables which started the conversion of the first floor into a flat, with Philip Simmie helping Richard to construct the staircase. In June 2006 a Wedding Arch feature was added to the garden.
2008 - 2011
Harpsdale - Renovation and Restoration
In 2008, further work was undertaken. In June, repairs were made to the flooring of the central four rooms – new Baltic pine for the dining room and den and repairs to the remainder with old boards, which John Simmie paid for. In August, the 1941 carpet was replaced and in this case, Jean Simmie paid half of the outlay. Jean was delighted to see her son, Richard, consolidating her lifetime of decorating Harpsdale.
The restoration of the main sitting room, returned to its late 19th Century grandeur.
(R J Simmie Collection)
(R J Simmie Collection)
From 1971 until 2011, the exterior never had a completed paint finish. There were always sections of peeling paint. So in 2011 Richard Simmie engaged Michael Dempsey to restore the exterior of the house, as we see it today. It took him six months to complete, at a cost of $99,000. John Simmie contributed $49,000, ‘the most he had ever contributed to any works on the house in his entire life’.
2012
John Ernest Simmie dies
John Ernest Simmie dies at Brunswick on 13 May 2012
Jean Simmie dies
Jean Simmie dies on 16 December 2012; both buried at Bulla Cemetery
2014
Harpsdale water issues
Richard added a 300,000-litre storage tank to help with the water supply for the garden (even decanting water from other tanks at the shearing shed, stables and work shop, when they were full). Finally in 2018, Peter Simmie had clean fill added to part of his property to the east of the big dam. It was an area that would flood with water but little of it would run off into the big dam. Once that work was done, however, the water from this area ran into the dam and now the dam became reliably half full, all of the time. In effect this has finally provided the property, house and garden with permanent water.
James Simmie married at Harpsdale
2015
Richard Simmie retires after 37 years of medicine
2018
Richard Simmie marries Andrew McAliece at Harpsdale
Richard Simmie and Andrew McAliece and the Wedding Arch garden feature, Harpsdale.
Richard Simmie and Andrew McAliece
(R J Simmie Collection)
The Wedding Arch garden feature, Harpsdale.
(R J Simmie Collection)
The old shearing shed motor turned into a garden feature
(R J Simmie Collection)
Another garden art sculpture 2023
(R J Simmie Collection)
2026
Harpsdale to pass to Wolfdene
(R J Simmie Collection)