By Matthew Sims
The naming of the new Pakenham East suburb has taken another turn, with a last-minute addition to the list of names considered.
Despite consultation ending on Tuesday 21 May, Cardinia Toomuc Ward councillor Stephanie Davies moved a notice of motion at the Monday 20 May council meeting to note correspondence from residents requesting another name of Hannah Meadows be considered, and for the name to be included as a submission in the final report which comes back to council.
Nar Nar Goon’s Chantelle McLachlan contacted all councillors last month requesting her grandmother Hannah Elizabeth Duff (née Simpson) be honoured.
“For too long now, the contributions and achievements of women have been overlooked,“ she said.
“Whilst Hannah may not have been a doctor, nor did she win a Nobel Prize or invent the lightbulb, she did take on a non traditional role and she worked damn hard to provide for her family through her farming and other contributions to the local community.
“I would not be the strong, passionate, determined woman I am today had it not been for Hannah’s influence in my life and I will continue to fight for her recognition.“
Ms McLachlan said her family has been an integral part of the Pakenham East area for more than 90 years.
“Five generations of my family have owned or resided on a property located on Mount Ararat North Road, Nar Nar Goon, since 1933, and 90 years later, we can proudly say that this property is still within my family,“ she said.
“This property was initially owned by my great grandfather, Francis Alexander Duff, who purchased the property in around 1933, which he called ’Myalla’.
“He later sold the property to his son, my grandfather, Walter Stewart Duff (otherwise known as Stewart), and my grandmother, Hannah Elizabeth Duff following their marriage in 1946.“
Hannah was born on 19 January 1922 and was one of the few women farmers of her time.
With farming running through her blood and milking cows since she was 12, she quickly took on the reins at running the farm as a dairy farm, securing a contract to provide milk to Bonlac in Longwarry.
Hannah would milk the cows by hand, until she was able to upgrade to a mechanical dairy and she continued to milk cows every day of her life for close to 60 years.
Hannah and Walter had to diversify their operations over the years, including growing maize to feed the cows, harvesting peas which they supplied to the Garfield fruit shop, leasing a paddock on the property to grow potatoes, selling mushrooms from a makeshift roadside stall on the Princes Highway, farming Merino sheep and eventually running beef cattle on the property.
On top of her work as a cleaner at the Kooweerup Hospital for a period in her teens and work as a domestic cleaner, Hannah also started a mobile food van and began selling hot food, sandwiches and hot and cold drinks at the Warragul Market, the local agricultural shows, the Lang Lang Rodeo and the Aura Vale Lake.
Ms McLachlan said her grandmother was many things to many people and a true symbol of the area.
“Hannah’s dedication, resilience, and commitment to her land are emblematic of the spirit of our community and are deserving of recognition,“ she said.
“As one of her descendants, I am fully supportive of the use of her name in such an honourable way.
“In the event that our submission is unsuccessful and is not utilised as a suburb name, given our family’s property runs parallel with Mount Ararat North Road, we will be seeking to have Mount Ararat North Road renamed in her honour.“
Ms McLachlan said the Duff family had long links stretching back as far as 1855.
“Francis Alexander Duff’s father was Walter Duff, who served as a councillor at Cranbourne Shire Council and Walter Duff’s father was the Reverend Alexander Duff,“ she said.
“Walter Duff donated the land upon which the Cardinia Presbyterian Church was built.
“The Simpson family from whom Hannah is a descendent are another well known local farming family in the Cardinia area.“
Cr Davies said she was honoured to put forward Hannah’s name on behalf of the Duff family.
Hannah died, aged 87, on 8 April 2009 and is buried in the Pakenham Cemetery.
