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The name Marcus Hill appears as early as 1863 when the inhabitants there asked the Indented Head Road Board for a road to be cleared (possibly Banks Road). The ordnance map shows Marcus Hill (209 feet) about two miles slightly north of east from the locality. Bailliere's Gazetteer of 1865 describes it as a small hamlet about four miles west-south-west of Queenscliff, at the head of a salt swamp draining into Swan Bay and on a freshwater lake or swamp, suggesting that the settlement was originally further south than it is today. The fact that there was no regular communication with Queenscliff or Geelong also indicates that it was not on the main line of road. The scattered population consisted of small agriculturalists and a few brickmakers. Church services began about 1863 in a thatched hut, then in a brick building that also served as a Sunday School. It was later enlarged and in 1882 was moved to a position on the Queenscliff Road near the State School. .....
In 1882 J. F. Levien was successful in getting a railway station built for Marcus Hill. This appears to have been on the Swan Bay Road about two miles from the hamlet. Then the Ocean Grove Station was built about one mile closer along Banks Road to serve the new township. In 1890, as the result of a petition from the locals, the name of the Marcus Hill station was changed to Mannerim, as was the post office which had been established there in 1883. A further change occurred on December 1, 1896, the Ocean Grove station was renamed Marcus Hill. Later the word Hill was dropped from the name.
In June 1870 Anne Higgison opened a school at Marcus Hill which seems to have become State School No. 1370 in 1874, when it had an average attendance of 16. A new site was chosen in 1875 but it was not until February 1878 that the new school, No. 2029, with its three room residence (cost £400) opened with Mary O'Connell as head teacher. Until 1905 it was known as Queenscliff Road School. (pp. 109-110)
(See p. 180 of Balla-wein for source references.)
[Reproduced with the kind permission of Ian Wynd, Geelong]
Wynd, Ian. Balla-wein : A history of the Shire of Bellarine, Shire of Bellarine, Drysdale, 1988 - available from the Bellarine Historical Society and the Geelong Historical Records Centre.
Record Sources for Marcus Hill
- Photographs : Bellarine Historical Society; Geelong Historical Records Centre; various private collections.
- Maps & Plans : Bellarine Historical Society; Geelong Historical Records Centre.
- Newspapers : Geelong Advertiser Indexes - Bellarine Historical Society & Geelong Historical Records Centre; Geelong Advertiser on microfilm - Geelong Historical Records Centre; various local newspapers - Bellarine Historical Society.
- Miscellaneous Documents & Advertisements : Bellarine Historical Society; Geelong Historical Records Centre; various private collections.
- Bellarine Shire Council Records : Geelong Historical Records Centre.
- More recent Council Records : City of Greater Geelong.
- Cemetery Records : Bellarine Historical Society; Geelong Historical Records Centre.
- Land Records : Registrar of Titles, Melbourne; Bellarine Historical Society; Geelong Historical Records Centre.
Bibliography
Brownhill, Geo. H. Illustrated Guide to Geelong And District, Facsimile edn., Deakin University Press, Geelong, 1990.
Campbell, A. J. Tourist Guide to Geelong and Southern Watering Places, Henry Thacker, Geelong, 1893.
Edwards, Ronald G. The History of Ocean Grove, Limited edition., The Edina Press, Lower Ferntree Gully Victoria, 1952.
McKeown, Gil. The Grove That Grew : The History of Ocean Grove, Gil McKeown, Ocean Grove, 1983.
Townsend, Alix. These Friendly Shores : A Personal History of Ocean Grove, A. Townsend, Ocean Grove, 1988.
Wynd, Ian. Balla-wein : A history of the Shire of Bellarine, Shire of Bellarine, Drysdale, 1988.
Wynd, Ian. Geelong The Pivot : A Short History of Geelong and District, Cypress Books, Mont Albert North, 1971.
