Laurence Mooney
| Town/City | Portland Victoria |
|---|---|
| First name | Laurence |
| Last name | Mooney |
| Country of Origin | Ireland |
| Date of Birth | 14th October, 1831 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1853 |
| Submitted by | Laurence Mooney |
Story
Laurence was one of ten siblings. Along with two of his brothers, they left Ireland because of the famine and a chance of a new beginning in a new country. Denis, their father was a small land owner from Maynooth in County Kildare. Laurence was the first to arrive in Australia on the ‘Lorena’ on 6th February 1853. Brother William arrived on the ‘Lightning’ in July 1854 and was closely followed by their eldest brother John, who arrived on the ‘Great Britain’ in September 1854. Perhaps they were hedging their bets on a safe arrival or maybe it took extra time to afford the passenger fares for the second and third brothers.
Laurence’s ship the ‘Lorena’ set sail on 16th September 1852 with 249 souls on board. According to ‘The Lorena’s Log and Ocean Gazette’ the passenger and the crew enjoyed the whole voyage, with perhaps the exception of being becalmed at the Cape on the 7th December until the 24th December when there was a fresh breeze and they once again set sail for Melbourne without any untoward incidents.
Upon his arrival, Laurence travelled to Stawell and Ararat where he had a diverse colonial career. He spent some time looking for gold and was a store keeper for a short period in and around the Goldfields until 1857 when he and his brother John purchased thier first parcel of land 13kms north of Ararat, naming it ‘Mooney’s Gap’ due to the gap in the Great Dividing Range.
Laurence married Bridget Flemming on the 28th November 1859 and they had six children.
In 1857 Laurence and John set up one of the first vineyards in the area and they also ran sheep. Once the wine was ready for sale, Laurence and John opened the ‘Mooney’s Hotel’ on the Avoca Road and enjoyed the passing trade of people heading to the goldfields of Ararat. By the turn of the 20th Century the ‘Emerald Vineyard’ was thriving and eventually grew to consist of 120 acres of grapes. The wine was not only being sold locally, but was being exported to England and France.
With the rabbits, possums and frosts effecting wine production and the price of wool increasing it was decided to cease wine production and so in 1928 the last of the wine was bottled and wool production became the main venture.