There are many lonely graves on properties from the time before the Melton cemetery opened in 1861. However the best known is the “forgotten girl who sleeps in the wooded folds of the Green Hills” at Toolern Vale.

Although the person whose remains lie in the grave is thought to have been a young woman who died in the 1840s, her identity remains a mystery. The oldest and most enduring story is that it contains the remains of Ellen Batman, daughter of John Batman. Ellen was one of seven daughters of John Batman, a notorious and divisive personality in the history of Victoria and his ex-convict wife, Eliza. In researching the Batman women, Michelle Berry, a University of Tasmania historian, has found that violence and insecurity plagued the lives of these colonial women. Three of the daughters, Eliza, Adelaide and Ellen ended up in Toolern Vale at the properties of John Aitken and the Collyer brothers and Ellen died at Greenhills Station in 1851. Their mother was murdered in Geelong in 1852.

This talk will discuss the history of the Batman women and their relationships, and the difficulties faced by ‘women without means’, in colonial society.

This event is presented in partnership with the Melton Council City Strategy Team, part of 16 Days of Activism.

Bookings essential, please leave an email address when you register online and the zoom link will be emailed one business day prior to the program start date.

If you are not a library member, please email the name(s) of all guests and a contact number to librarybookings@melton.vic.gov.au to confirm your booking