Person:George Coverdale (1)

Mark Howard, in "Tom Coverdale: Bena Pioneer", Gippsland Heritage Journal, No. 7, December 1989, writes:

"George and [his brother] Thomas Coverdale came to Gippsland in June of 1877. They spent a month exploring the forest around present day Bena, near Korumburra. Liking what they found, they decided to peg adjacent blocks. They were among the relatively few white farmers in the first wave of settlers [to come to The Great Southern Forest after The Land Act of 1869 allowed selection of up to 320 acres of Crown Land] and their applications for licences were readily granted. After applying they returned to Geelong. There was no point starting work till their blocks' boundaries were confirmed.... However they were eager to commence work and wrote to the Department of Lands seeking an early survey.

"The survey began in November 1877. Together, the brothers had almost a square mile of land. Surveyor's notes describe it as undulating with volcanic soil covered in gum trees and dense hazel scrub. Hazel scrub was thought to indicate soil of exceptional fertility. Both blocks had river frontage. Before the survey was finished the brothers arrived with a team and outfit. They must have been among the first in the area as their clearing became a base for the constant stream of new and prospective settlers.

"Their first job was to clear the land. Apart from the giant trees there was a dense understorey of lesser vegetation. Scrub and trees up to 9" in diameter were cleared and larger trees were ringbarked. Work was made difficult by the hilly terrain that emerged with gradients up to one in three. The cut scrub was left to dry - ready to be burnt on suitable days - and the ground was sown with a mixture of grass seed and clover. The layer of ash and natural fertility of the soil produced lush pasture. At first only small clearings were possible. Blocks remained largely forested for many years. Even when cleared, the towering white trunks of the ringbarked trees remained a feature of the landscape till the end of the century.

"The brothers worked the two blocks as one property. A slab hut with four rooms was built on George's block. As their clearing in the forest grew, they brought in sheep and cattle to graze on the rich pasture. However the slow pace of clearing meant it was years before they could earn a living just from their land. In the meantime they supplemented their income by locating milling timber and guiding parties of new settlers through the forest.

"Once cleared, the land presented a new set of problems. Plagues of caterpillars and wallabies devoured the newly sown pasture while wedgetail eagles and dingoes took their toll of young stock. Another problem was footrot caused by the wet climate. It must have been an isolated life, particularly for the women and childre. As the Coverdale brothers sat around the hearth after a day's work and listened to the rain beating on the shingle roof they must have thought about the comforts left behind at Geelong.

"George and Tom were born in a part of Geelong known as Little Scotland. There were six children in the family, two of whom died in infancy. Richard, their father, came to Geelong in 1841 and worked as a storekeeper....

"Within 18 months of arrival in Gippsland the brothers had made forst improvements to the land that were required under the Act. Apart form the hut there was a barn, dairy, a well, two dams and a vegetable garden. The land proved fertile. Turnips in their kitchen garden grew to between 9 and 13 lbs each while cabbages reached 14 lbs. About 90 acres were cleared and sown with pasture and another 40 acres ringbarked. The regulations required the land to be fenced, however the natyre of the country made this bothh impossible and unnecessary and they readily obtained a waiver.

"The main problem was the absence of roads. All supplies had to be brought in on packhorse along narrow forest paths. Rain and regular use turned the tracks into canals of mud gor most of the year. Horses that fell had to be unharnessed quickly bfore they drowned in the liquid mire. Some used horse-drawn sleds fo skim across the surface of the knee-deep mud. Even when dry, the rutted tracks and difficult gradients hindered the development of the area for many years. The state of the roads also limited what could be produced a s settlers were restricted to raising what they could "walk out". Small wonder that less than half of the first wave of selectors stayed long enough to obtain Crown Grants for their land.

"Five years after arrival, George and Tom were ready to apply for their leases. They had now cleared 185 of their 631 acres. Although the boundaries were still unfenced, there were 52 chains of internal fencing. The buildings were all on George's block with most of the cleared land on Tom's. Improvements were valued at 745 pounds. Tom's lease was readily granted but George had problems with his. The Shire Council had earlier put a road through his block. It meandered back and forth, taking 6 1/2 acres and dividing the property in three parts. While building the road, a mistake was found in the original block survey which, when corrected, furhter reduced the size of his holding. Then the health of George's wife, Sarah Jane, began to suffer in the wet climate. She had borne five children in 8 years and worked as hard as the men to make a home out of a wilderness. Late in 1885, George decided to move his family to a drier climate. Tom decided to stay on. He could not afford to take up the mortgage on George's block, but the land was not lost to the family. It was taken over by John Bell, who had married their sister, Elizabeth, and moved to the area in the mid 1880s."

Mark Howard notes that after leaving their block in The Great Southern Forest, George and Sarah went north to Corowa in New South Wales. Later they returned to Gippsland and eventually settled in Bairnsdale where many of their descendants now live.