With the formation of the municipal gardens in the Ruffey's Creek area, Ruffey's Creek has become important to the district. The Ruffy brothers, after whom the creek is named, have been ignored by historians in our city, yet they were among the first three to settle in the district.
The Ruffy family of five brothers, came from Van Dieman‘s Land in 1836. They went to Cranbourne, where they claimed a grazing run and built an inn. They were the first to settle east of Dandenong. In 1837 an additional sheep station was formed in Bulleen. Their hut and sheep yard was on the site of the Yarra Valley Country Club. They did not stay long for, two years later, they had left the area.
When Templestowe Village was surveyed, the streets were named after pioneers of the district. Foote, the surveyor, spelt the name Ruffey, as it had been misspelt by wedge when he surveyed Koonung Creek in 1837. The creek was called after the street and by 1860, was being officially called Ruffey's Creek.
Twenty years later a map was issued, naming the creek after a land department surveyor, but the name Ruffey's Creek remained.
1975 05 DTHS Newsletter
Ruffy Brothers of Cranbourne
The Ruffy Brothers were some of the earliest European settlers in the Cranbourne area. They squatted on the Tomaque run, after having arrived from Tasmania in 1836 (though some sources say they left Tasmania in March 1837). Tomaque was situated between Dandenong and Cranbourne. The brothers had Tomaque until 1850, however in the 1840s they also took up the Mayune Run of 32,000 acres. Mayune was situated around what is now the town of Cranbourne. The Brothers held Mayune collectively, until Frederick took over the lease from 1845 to 1850. The Ruffy brothers also owned the Cranbourne Inn, which some suggest was the original source of the name of the town of Cranbourne. Cranbourne is a town in Berkshire, England. |
| Frederick Ruffy. Drawn by George Henry Haydon. Reproduced from The Good Country : Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson |
There is not a lot of information on the brothers but from various sources we can piece together a bit of their family history. William Joseph Ruffy and Louisa Ann Kingham were married at St Martin in the Fields in Westminster in London on May 15 1799. Ruffy was a joint editor of the Farmers Journal and Agricultural Advertizer, an English publication, from 1808-1832. The Farmers Journal was one of the first Agricultural journals in England. They had nine children of which five sons lived at Western Port - Thomas (1800 to 1882) William James (1802 to 1884) Frederick (1804 to 1872) Henry (1808 to 1847) and Arthur Wiggett (1817 to 1893). William Joseph Ruffy died in Launceston in 1836 aged 61 and Louisa Ruffy died in Campbell Town in 1859 aged 79.
Of the five sons who came to Cranbourne - Henry died while the brothers where at Tomaque, Arthur married Caroline Sawtell in 1852. She was the daughter of Edwin Sawtell. I presume that this is the same Edwin Sawtell, after whom Sawtell Inlet in Tooradin is named. Sawtell was a storekeeper who arrived in Melbourne in 1838. It seems likely that he had land in the area and that Thomas Rutherford, after whom Rutherford Inlet is named, managed his run. Sawtell died in 1892 aged 94. William married Janet Stewart in 1867. I cannot find any record that the other Ruffy brothers married and the only off spring I can locate of the two married brothers were the two children of Arthur & Caroline, of whom the eldest Frederick lived only 15 months (1853 to 1854). Their other son was Arthur Edwin Sawtell Ruffy, born in 1861.
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| Squatter hut, drawn by George Henry Haydon. Reproduced from The Good Country : Cranbourne Shire by Niel Gunson. |
http://caseycardinialinkstoourpast.blogspot.com.au/2009/06/ruffy-brothers-of-cranbourne.html 4Jun2009
RUFFY.—On the 31st ult., at Miss Thomas's, 351 High-street, Prahran, Arthur W. Ruffy, late of Brighton, seventh son of the late W. J. Ruffy, of London, aged 76.
Source: 1893 'Family Notices', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 3 June, p. 1. , viewed 31 Dec 2022, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8559764
The town of Ruffy is in the Strathbogies, south of Longwood and several early landowners appear to have had a familial relationship through their wives. See History of Ruffy; Wikipedia
Marraige Record: RUFFY, William James. Marriage: STEWART, Janet. 1867. 2984/1867
Strangely, the link is Stewart. Both families came from around Launceston in Tasmania. In 1842, Gideon Stewart married Georgina Stewart, and it was Georgina's sister, who married W J Ruffy in 1867. All marriages in this group involved early pastoralists in the area from Seymour to Benalla.
Dearth Record: RUFFY, William James. Death <Unknown Family Name>, Louisa Ann KINGHAM
<Unknown Family Name>, William Joseph SEYMOUR STEWART, Jessie
Date at Death: 82. Year: 1884. Record: 6155/1884
William Ruffy was 30 years older than Janet Stewart. I cannot explain the reference to "Jessie". William's father is also listed as William J Ruffy, Esq. of London in a couple of newspaper articles. Here is one:
ATKINS—RUFFY.—On the 10th inst., at the residence of T. W. Pinniger, Esq., Seymour, by the Rev. James Gilbertson, Edward Atkins, Esq., of Northcote, to Francisca Dorothea Ruffy, youngest daughter of Wm. J. Ruffy, Esq., of London.
Source: 1867 'Family Notices', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 15 August, p. 4. , viewed 01 Jan 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5775239
Source: Ron Meehan DEC2022
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