Cathlaw History

Originally established as a farm, ‘Cathlaw’ (c1911) was the home of Blanche Muriel Eugénie Ross-Watt (1861-1956). She moved to ‘Cathlaw’ from ‘Rosslynne’ (another historically significant property) following the death of her husband in 1919. At ‘Cathlaw’, with her daughter, Betty, she developed a garden that would become renowned for its beauty.

Charity worker, farmer, feminist, local government councillor, local government head and Red Cross worker, Blanche was a prominent figure in the district. The daughter of Thomas Ferrier Hamilton (1820 – 1905), she was born in Gisborne, the seventh of eleven children.

Her father was an Australian politician, pastoralist, and sportsman. A grandson of the 2nd Viscount Gort, he was born in Linlithgowshire, Scotland and emigrated to Australia in 1839. A local magistrate and justice of the peace, Ferrier Hamilton was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council in 1872, sitting as a member for the Southern Province until 1884. Ferrier also sat on the Gisborne Road Board, was a member (and twice president) of the Melbourne Cricket Club, and was a keen cricketer playing several matches for Victorian representative teams, including the inaugural first-class match in Australia.

The fascinating family history behind “Cathlaw” spans rich generations of political engagement and active service.

A brief look at the history books takes us on a journey back to Ireland, where Charles Vereker, 2nd Viscount Gort PC (Ire)^[1] was born in 1768 (d. 1842). Known as Charles Vereker until 1817, later as Lord Gort, he was an Irish soldier and politician. He was the son of Thomas Vereker and Juliana – the sister of John Prendergast-Smyth, 1st Viscount Gort.

Charles was married twice; first to Jane, daughter of Ralph Westropp, in 1789. They had several children together. From 1790 to 1801 he represented Limerick City in the Irish House of Commons. In 1798 he was active at the Battle of Collooney, part of the Irish Rebellion for independence. Following the conflict, Vereker adopted “Collooney” as his family motto. His first wife, Jane, died in 1798.

In 1802 Charles Vereker was elected to the British House of Commons for Limerick, a seat he held until 1817. During this time he also served as a Lord of the Treasury (1807 to 1812), held the honorary posts of Constable of Limerick Castle from (1809 to 1842), and was sworn in to the Irish Privy Council in 1809.

In 1810 he married his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of John Palliser. They had several children.

From 1814 to 1831 Charles was Governor of County Galway, and upon the death of his uncle in 1817 succeeded him as second Viscount Gort. In 1824 Lord Gort was elected an Irish Representative Peer.

Charles and Elizabeth had a son, Thomas Ferrier Hamilton (1820 – 1905), born in Linlithgowshire, Scotland. Thomas Ferrier Hamilton and his cousin John Carre Riddell migrated to Australia in 1839, arriving in Sydney on the ship Abberton. They moved to Victoria, where Hamilton married Elizabeth Mary Milner Stephen in 1851. They had five sons and six daughters, including Blanche Muriel Eugénie Ross-Watt born in 1861 at Gisborne, Victoria.

In 1872 Thomas Ferrier Hamilton was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council, sitting as a member for the Southern Province until 1884. He also sat on the Gisborne Road Board.

His daughter, Blanche Muriel Eugénie Ross-Watt, was educated privately at the family property, Elderslie – a historically significant Colonial style single-storey residence located on Barringo Road, New Gisborne.

In 1897 Miss Hamilton married Thomas Riddell Ross-Watt (d.1919), a 47-year-old pastoralist. They lived at his property, Rosslynne.

Circa 1911 Mrs Ross-Watt established a small farm, Cathlaw, that she moved to with her daughter, Betty. She served on many committees and charitable organisations including establishing a local branch of the British (Australian) Red Cross Society within a few days of the outbreak of World War One. She also lead a campaign to have a cottage hospital built at Gisborne and served for many years on the committee of the Kyneton (District) Hospital.

In 1925 Mrs Ross-Watt was elected to the Gisborne Shire Council and appointed a justice of the peace in 1927. She was elected shire president in 1931, and again served as president in 1939. Gisborne was the first shire in Victoria to have a female Shire President. In 1949 she was appointed an Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.)

Blanche Muriel Eugénie Ross-Watt died on 18 May 1956 at Cathlaw and was buried in Gisborne cemetery.