[1] The land that Trelawny was later to stand on was purchased from the Crown in August 1862 by Samuel Figgis (1812–1879), a Dublin-born Irishman, who moved to London, England, where he married Englishwoman, Sarah Smith (c. 1819 – 1893),[2] in 1843.

[3] Samuel and Sarah Figgis emigrated to the southern Australian state of Victoria on the ship Severn, arriving November 1852,[4] with their sons Benjamin Johnston, William Harold, Charles Douglas and daughter Clara Elizabeth.

However, Samuel came to Melbourne looking for work as an accountant, and unlike so many others who headed for the Victorian goldfields, he didn't go there in search of gold.

[12] The original property which Figgis purchased consisted of two adjoining oblong allotments, combining to 2.1 acres, with a lengthy frontage along Havelock Street of 560 feet approx.

[24] The Figgis residence is referred to as Rehoboth, which supposedly translates from Latin Vulgate as "latitude" or "room".

As the property was owned by Samuel Figgis in November 1878, it would seem likely that Rehoboth is the real estate that was left in his will and valued at £600 in September 1879.

As part of the community involvement of the Figgis family, Sarah had been the Honorary Secretary of the Ladies Benevolent Clothing Society in 1880, under the venerable James Oddie.

[40] She left an estate of £6,256, which didn't include any real estate.,[41][42] as she had sold the property to Robert Ford Bryant in 1887.

The last entry in his family bible reads: "Left London for Victoria in the ship Winifred on 1 January 1864, amidst the prayers and tears of our parents".

Bryant, who sat as a Justice of the Peace on the Ballarat Police and City Court benches,[45] was a miner, manager, a Government expert, and a director in the Kangaroo G.M., Australasian and various other mining companies.

[46] During the time he was manager of the Midas Company mine at Clunes, he brought the "Lady Loch" gold nugget (617 ozs.

[50] Fond memories of the Cornish ballad, Trelawny: The Song Of The Western Men [51] may also have had an effect on the expatriate Cornishman, too.

Bryant died in 1908[53] and left his estate to his wife Mary,[54] where her address was referred to as "Trelawny, Peel Street, Ballarat".

Bryant[55] similarly gave the address as Trelawny House, Peel Street North, Ballarat.

Eight of the Bryant children were alive when their mother, Mary, passed away in 1921, yet it was only her third youngest child, Winifred, who was interested in buying the family home.

Winifred owned the property from 1909 until she transferred both Allotments 5 & 6 to her younger sister, Elsie Caroline Lemin (Bryant), Married Woman, in 1916.

[58] Winifred and her husband, William White (1874–1931), moved from Ballarat to Finley in New South Wales to farm.

This was a major motivation to Elsie in purchasing the property when Winifred and William White went to farm in Finley, thus keeping Trelawny in the family.

[64] In January 1916 the property held by her sister, Winifred White (Bryant), was transferred to Elsie and she remained the sole proprietor up until her death in October 1950.

[77] An additional subdivision had been made in 1966 creating a housing block at the corner of Havelock and Gregory Streets,[78] which was retained within the family, being owned by Robin (Campbell) & Greg Nicholls.

Fortunately some of the vestiges of their toils still remain and Ballarat the Garden City can be proud of their legacy carried forward by the present members.

[80] Trelawny continues its gracious presence on Black Hill, behind the privacy of its substantial hedge along its Havelock Street frontage, and is undergoing another round of major renovations.