Captain Francis Ormond

In this capacity he brought out to Port Phillip a number of immigrants, usually anchoring his ship off the bluff now named Point Ormond. He was so impressed with the possibilities that he saw in the colonies that he eventually bought a small vessel, the Tuscan, loaded it with cargo, and with his wife Isabella, 15 year old son Francis and 13 year old daughter Elizabeth, set sail for Melbourne, arriving in 1842.

They were to have another daughter, Isabella, in 1844.

Once he had made the decision of where to settle, Captain Ormond bought 20 acres of land at Shelford, where he built the only inn in the district, the Settler’s Arms, where he made a considerable fortune, which he later grew further by moving into the wool industry.

When he died, his wife and descendants created a family crypt, with room for 20 graves intending it to be used by all the family. Those interred have their initials inscribed on the inner stones of the square monument.

Ormond left an estate of nearly £2 million – a vast amount for his time – and his will showed the breadth of his philanthropy and benevolence. He left £5000 each to the Melbourne Hospital, the Benevolent Asylum, the Orphan Asylum, Deaf and Dumb Asylum, Blind Asylum (Ormond Hall), Sailors’ Home, Alfred Hospital, Children’s Hospital, Geelong Hospital, Geelong Orphans’ Asylum, Ballarat Hospital, Ballarat Benevolent Asylum, and £1000 each to St George’s Presbyterian Church, Geelong, and Toorak Presbyterian Church, in addition to his large educational bequests including to Geelong’s Gordon Institute.

He is remembered in the naming of Ormond College at Melbourne University, the Melbourne suburb of Ormond, and Ormond Road, which runs alongside the cemetery.

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