35 Facts About Francis Ormond

Francis Ormond was a Scottish-born Australian pastoralist, member of the Parliament of Victoria and philanthropist in the areas of education and religion.

Francis Ormond was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, the only son of three children to British Merchant Navy sailor, Captain Francis Ormond Sr.

Francis Ormond was educated at the Tyzack's Academy in Liverpool, England, after his father moved his family to the major shipping city to further his career, circa 1835.

Francis Ormond's father adopted an early interest in Britain's southern colonies, which came from stories he heard of the expedition of Hume and Hovel and of Australia Felix.

Francis Ormond purchased the barque Tuscan the following year, and set sail with his family for the fledgling Port Phillip District.

Francis Ormond took a seven-year lease on 20 acres of land near Geelong.

Francis Ormond established the Settler's Arms Inn on the site - becoming the first inn on the trade route from Geelong to Hamilton - which prospered due to its location.

The younger Francis Ormond worked as a book keeper at his father's inn, who had intended for him to later train in commerce in the counting house of a merchant in Geelong.

However, in 1847 Captain Francis Ormond was presented with the opportunity to purchase the small sheep station Mopiamnum near Piggoreet, south-west of Ballarat, for a considerably low price.

Francis Ormond devoted almost every evening to their tutorage, until the time came for them to leave his employment, to which they did with a useful level of education.

Francis Ormond sold the land for an advance on the original price his father had paid and, later that year, sold his second property Ghirangemerajah.

Francis Ormond paid his father for Mopiamnum in full and purchased the 30,000 acre station Borriyalloak near Skipton, east of Piggoreet, along with its flocks of merino sheep.

In 1853, Francis Ormond was made a territorial magistrate, and regularly sat on the Common Bench of towns close to Borriyalloak at Skipton, Linton, Carngham and Chepstowe.

Francis Ormond was known as a thoughtful magistrate, devoted to the duties of his office.

Francis Ormond was a devout Presbyterian, and in 1856 - after a town meeting in Skipton - he began lengthy talks with the Presbytery of Melbourne, calling for the establishment of a parish in Skipton.

Francis Ormond rode all night and the following day, crossing bridgeless and flooded rivers, to arrive in Melbourne on the evening before the hanging was to take place.

Francis Ormond immediately went to the office of the Attorney-General, who told him it was too late for anything to be done.

However, Francis Ormond demanded the Attorney-General relentlessly to view the documents of his findings.

Francis Ormond purchased the mansion house, "Ognez", in Toorak, and later assisted with the establishment of the Presbyterian church in Toorak.

Francis Ormond was a devout Presbyterian and an elder in the church.

Francis Ormond further expanded his Victorian land holdings at his "Bangal Station" in Skipton.

In 1881, Francis Ormond was appointed a member of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Education Act.

Francis Ormond refused the position of Commission Chairman, due to his advocacy of religious education in state schools, but accepted a general position with the commission.

Francis Ormond encouraged the creation of the Technological Commission, which was later responsible for the introduction of technical education into state schools.

Francis Ormond proposed the idea of a technical college for Melbourne.

Francis Ormond tried to establish a music college in Melbourne, in 1882.

Francis Ormond stood for the Parliament of Victoria in 1882, and was elected the Member of the Legislative Council for the South-Western Province.

Francis Ormond remarried on 1 October 1885, to Mary in London, while visiting technical colleges and music colleges in Europe to examine their methods and practices.

Francis Ormond set out to apply the best of these methods and practices to a model for a similar college in Victoria.

Francis Ormond met with no encouragement, and the scheme was temporarily dropped.

Francis Ormond found there was much difference of opinion in Melbourne concerning the wisest way of using his proposed donation, and very little response had come to the appeal for funds to found scholarships.

Francis Ormond had no children, but adopted two girls and a boy.

On his fifth visit to Europe Francis Ormond had a rapid physical breakdown ascribed to overwork and died at Pau, South France, on 5 May 1889.

Francis Ormond was survived by his wife who died in 1925.

The Ormond Chair of Music at the University of Melbourne, Ormond Hall at the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, RMIT's Francis Ormond Building, Ormond College at the University of Melbourne, Ormond Road in Geelong, The Francis Ormond Masonic Lodge No 286 UGLV and the Melbourne suburb of Ormond are all named in his honour.