Creswick Advertiser (Vic.: 1914 - 1918), Tuesday 11 April 1916, page 2
EARLY CRESWICK
Mr James McCann, of 50 Hope Street, Geelong West, writes-:
I noted in your columns the de-mise of Mrs May at such an ad-vanced and venerable age. This event calls to my mind interesting incidents of Early Creswick and many kindly arts to me by the de-ceased lady when I was a boy at Creswick in 1855 and 1856. I was born at Geelong in February, 1847, where my father. Mr Nicholas McCann carried on business as a build-er and supplier of Berrabool Fre-'-tone. In 1850 I had the misfor-(tune to lose my mother by death. I was then handed over to the care of a childless uncle and aunt. In 1855 we started for the goldfields and arrived at Creswick in Janu-ary 1855. We pitched our tent at Back Creek, about a mile and a half from the township proper. Friends of our -Mr Henry Map-person, the Cowling Bros, and se-veral others had formed a little settlement there. With Messrs Cowling and Mapperson, uncle be came mates. Their first claim was over towards the Cabbage Tree Creek, on what was then called "Humbug Hill," a pipe clay de-posit with a lead of gold underneath. I then formed acquaint-ance with the May family. A tent school had been established by a Mr Dickson at Cabbage Tree Creek. To this school I used to walk across from Back Creek. The elder Mays John and Sarah if I remember aright -used also to attend. Mrs May kind soul that she was, in-sisted that I should come to her tent every day with her children to have a hot dinner. I have the kindliest recollections of her mo-therly goodness. One incident I remember at Back Creek, this be ing a party of Americans tapping the head of the Back Creek and bringing the water over the creek by means of a flume, and then run-ning a trench towards Cabbage Tree to convey the water for sluicing purposes. On Sundays I walked to Creswick to attend the little wooden Methodist chapel on the side of the hill. A Portuguese doctor use to prescribe for onr ailments. There were a num-ber of Portuguese at Creswick at the time. Mr Harry Hammond was our butcher. My uncle's last claim at Creswick was a tunnel he put in near where the Railway station now stands. In this claim he always said that he left plenty of gold behind, as his party had no means at their disposal of overcoming the heavy inrush of water. In 1856 in company with Messrs Mapperson and Cowling Bros took our departure for Castlemaine With kindly greetings and remem-brances to all old pioneers of Cres-wick.