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[Riot at a land sale at Bacchus Marsh] [3 July 1865]

24 March 2022 · Leave a Comment

[Editor: This untitled item, an extract from a general news section, was published in The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 3 July 1865.]

[Riot at a land sale at Bacchus Marsh]

A riot took place during the land sale at Bacchus Marsh on Friday. About 2,500 persons were present, but only fifty were selectors.

Great discontent was manifested on account of the small number of clerks who were present, and the dissatisfaction reached its height when Mr. Green, a squatter in the neighbourhood, effected an entrance into the land office. A petition was sent in to oust him, but the request was not complied with, and the mob took the matter in hand. The police were eventually obliged to take Mr. Green to the police court for protection, and did so with great difficulty.

One man was found dead in the police-yard. Another, whilst riding home at night through the forest, five miles from Mr. Green’s station, was caught by the head in a tree in such a manner that he was unable to extricate himself, and when found was so greatly exhausted that he is not expected to recover.

Five good lots only were selected. One, of 330 acres, is situate about the centre of Mr. Green’s station, and an offer was made for it to the amount of £1,000 and refused.

Hotel accommodation was so difficult to obtain that a charge of 5s. was made for the privilege of sitting in a bagatelle-room.



Source:
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 3 July 1865, p. 4

Also published in various other newspapers, including:
The Geelong Advertiser (Geelong, Vic.), 3 July 1865, p. 5
The Ballarat Star (Ballarat, Vic.), 4 July 1865, p. 2
Portland Guardian and Normanby General Advertiser (Portland, Vic.), 6 July 1865, p. 2

Editor’s notes:
bagatelle = a game played on a table with holes or pockets at one end, with balls being propelled by use of a stick (similar to the game of billiards); a game played on a sloping board, with balls propelled to the top of the board, with their movement downwards being impeded by nails or pegs (similar to the game of pinball)
See:
1) “Folding Bagatelle Table for sale – St. Albans”, Masters Traditional Games [see graphics: 1, 2, 3 (similar to billiards)]
2) “Early Victorian hardwood Bagatelle table with ornate carving”, Pamono [see graphics: 1, 2, 3, 4 (similar to billiards)]
3) “Bagatelle”, Wikipedia [see graphic: A little game of Bagatelle, between Old Abe the Rail Splitter & Little Mac the Gunboat General, 1864 (similar to billiards)]
4) “Nagina International, Bagatelle Traditional Table Top Game 30cm x 45cm Solid Wood/Brass Pinball Game”, Ubuy [see graphic (similar to pinball)]
5) “Wooden Bagatelle Board – Deluxe Game: Handcrafted Original Bagatelle Board ”, Jaques London [see graphic (similar to pinball)]
6) “Masters Classic Pin Bagatelle Game”, Masters Traditional Games [see graphic (similar to pinball)]
7) “Boxwood Bagatelle Ideas”, Bill Manke (on Pinterest)
8) “Parlour Bagatelle, 1950/60s, original”, Object Lessons [see graphic (similar to pinball)]
9) “Corinthian Master Bagatelle – Full Size Wooden Bagatelle Game (71cm x 33cm) ”, Amazon (UK) [see graphic (similar to pinball)]
10) “Personalized wooden Bagatelle traditional table top game 38cm x 22cm x7.5cm solid wood/brass pinball game”, Etsy [see graphic (similar to pinball)]

bagatelle-room = a room allocated to the playing of the game of bagatelle (similar to a “billiards room”)

s. = a reference to a shilling, or shillings; the “s” was an abbreviation of “solidi”, e.g. as used in “L.S.D.” or “£sd” (pounds, shillings, and pence), which refers to coins used by the Romans, as per the Latin words “librae” (or “libra”), “solidi” (singular “solidus”), and “denarii” (singular “denarius”)

situate = situated, located; having a location, site, or situation; to affix, build, or place on a site, position, or location; place an idea or notion in a context or category; placed, residing, situating

squatter = in the context of Australian history, a squatter was originally someone who kept their livestock (mostly cattle and sheep) upon Crown land without permission to do so (thus illegally occupying land, or “squatting”); however, the practice became so widespread that eventually the authorities decided to formalise it by granting leases or licenses to occupy or use the land; and, with the growth of the Australian economy, many of the squatters became quite rich, and the term “squatter” came to refer to someone with a large amount of farm land (they were often regarded as rich and powerful)

station = a large rural holding for raising sheep or cattle; the term “property” is used for smaller holdings

[Editor: The original text has been separated into paragraphs.]

Filed Under: articles Tagged With: land sales, riots, selectors, SourceTrove, year1865

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