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From: "Susie Zada" <>
Subject: Re: [AVNE] Re: John FINN Mayor of Kilmore 1880s
Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 09:28:29 +1100
References: <200503142236.j2EMaLKr018188@mail.rootsweb.com>


Hi Jon,

Unfortunately I can't quickly lay my hands on my notes but a year or more
ago I was doing a lot of research in Seymour (and Kilmore) on John FINN
(name sometimes appears as FYNN) - it appears to be the same John FINN who
was at Port Fairy.

Hang on - just found SOME of my notes .....

John Finn and the Terminus Hotel
John Finn appears in the Rate Books as running a hotel in Seymour in 1870,
1872 and 1873, and is identified as possibly the first licensee of the
Terminus Hotel. His name doesn't appear elsewhere in the Rate Books, nor
is he mentioned further in any of the recognised histories of Seymour. If,
however, he was the first licensee of the Terminus Hotel and therefore the
first commercial business in Station Street, his background merits further
investigation as he appears to have been an astute businessman to have been
in this situation.
Keith Deutsher in "The Breweries of Australia : A History" refers to Henry
Bolton, James Tierney and John Fynn as "three very experienced brewers".
Henry Bolton, his uncle John Fynn, and James Tierney (Fynn's brother-in-law)
started the Seymour Brewery. They advertised in November 1869 as "Bolton,
Tierney & Co. Brewers, Seymour" and in 1874 the Goulburn River Brewery Co.
was formed. Bolton became sole owner of the company in 1879.
Prior to setting up the Seymour Brewery, John Fynn started the Heathcote
Brewery in 1855 which he then sold to his brother-in-law, James Tierney. It
was reported that Fynn "went back to his home country (Ireland), but
returned to Heathcote in 1862, and renewed his interest in the brewery by
becoming a partner, and later a substantial landowner. Henry Bolton, Fynn's
nephew, ran the brewery from about 1865 to 1869," when Bolton, Fynn and
Tierney set up the Seymour Brewery. Fynn and Tierney also purchased the
Kilmore Brewery in 1864.
John Fynn married Jane Bridget Tierney in 1857. Their children were born in
Heathcote and Kilmore between 1859 and 1873, with a further child born in
South Melbourne in 1874. It is quite probable that John Fynn of the
Seymour Brewery was the same John Finn who began the Terminus Hotel in
Station Street.
Although Deutsher stated that Fynn "went back to his home country", it is
also possible that the original reference may have been to Belfast - not in
Ireland, but Port Fairy which was formerly known as Belfast. A John Finn
started the Belfast Brewery in 1844 but appeared to leave about 1855. He
returned in 1856, and in 1860 the Belfast Brewery changed its name to the
Victoria Brewery, the same year that John Finn left the company and possibly
the area.
Further research would be required to confirm that these apparently
different people (John Fynn of Seymour, John Finn of Seymour, and John Finn
of Port Fairy) were one and the same, however the occupations, dates and
relationships certainly identify the possibility that they are, and also
provide an explanation for the "appearance and disappearance" of John Finn
at the Terminus Hotel.
In 1881 the Terminus Hotel was described as "recently erected" and was
"substantially built of softwood, iron roof; contains 16 rooms, verandah
front and back, large kitchen, 5 stalled stable, piggeries, coachhouse,
etc." The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1897 and rebuilt on the same
site.

And the references used for that section ..........

Transcription of Shire of Seymour Rate Books. Source: Seymour & District
Historical Society Inc. (computer file ); Martindale, H.G. New Crossing
Place: A History of Seymour and its Shire, Revised edition, Shire of
Seymour, Seymour, 1982, p. 106.
Deutsher, Keith M, The Breweries of Australia: A History, Thomas C.
Lothian Pty Ltd, Port Melbourne, 1999, pp. 121,166.
Deutsher, Keith M, The Breweries of Australia: A History, Thomas C.
Lothian Pty Ltd, Port Melbourne, 1999, p. 121.
CD-Rom Indexes to Victorian Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Macbeth
Genealogical Services Pty Ltd, Victoria.
Deutsher, Keith M, The Breweries of Australia: A History, Thomas C.
Lothian Pty Ltd, Port Melbourne, 1999, p. 161.
Lewis, Miles, Australian Architectural Index, Melbourne, (microfiche).
Martindale, H.G. New Crossing Place: A History of Seymour and its Shire,
Revised edition, Shire of Seymour, Seymour, 1982, p. 106.

Hope that helps .......... Susie Z


----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon Patrick" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2005 9:36 AM
Subject: Re: [AVNE] Re: John FINN Mayor of Kilmore 1880s


> Dear Peggy, thanks for your response. I think FINN the brewers were two
> brothers who also had operations around Port Fairy and Warrnambool, but
i've
> never been to establish if they are related to GArryowen. I will follow up
the
> references
> thanks
> jon

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