The end of the first world war stirred up a spirit of great restlessness in the hearts of thousands of suburban Englishman, the great empire exhibition of 1924, held at the Wembley Stadium in London offered enticing inducements to bowler hatted men in pin striped trousers and black jackets to migrate. Canada offered the Rockies Australia offered the outback.

Thousands of these English migrants became part of the closer settlement and soldier settlement schemes in the Millewa in Victorias far North-West, one of the most remote and certainly the driest part of the state.

They arrived after the boat trip by train in the 1920's, were allocated their 700 acre block of uncleared Mallee bush and left there. Many of them were quite well to do and had monogrammed linen and engraved silverware, but no water and only a tent to live in.

The Hiscox family are just one of those migrant families to give it a go in the Millewa, and thanks to John Hiscox we have a small photographic history of the way some (and i stress some) may have delt with this harsh environment.

Although they did walk off the land in 1935 they did spend 7 years trying to tame the Mallee having taken up a settlement block in 1928 then moving to Sydney.

July 1995 John Hiscox came to the Millewa to research his parents involvement in pioneering the Millewa and in particular the establishement of their farm "GOOLANA" at block 17 Yaramba.

click on image for larger version