Melbourne land mystery: Last registered to John Pascoe Fawkner but current owner can’t be found
THIS land was last registered to Melbourne founding father John Pascoe Fawkner in 1850. And now a federal government department wants to buy it but can’t find the current owner. Is it you?
VIC News
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THE owner of a block of unused land, last registered to one of modern Melbourne’s founding fathers John Pascoe Fawkner more than 160 years ago, is being sought for the expansion of airport at Tullamarine.
The 6770 sq m parcels of land were last registered to Fawkner who was town councillor and then elected to Victoria’s first colonial parliament in the 1856, serving until his death in 1869. Fawkner and wife Eliza had no children.
The federal Department of Infrastructure is now seeking to see if anyone else has claims on the land on Bassett Rd, west of the current airport, as part of a land acquisition process.
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“The Commonwealth understands there was a deed of grant dated December 1850 to Mr Fawkner. The owner has not been confirmed,’’ a department spokesman said.
“These parcels of land are registered to John Pascoe Fawkner who is deceased.
“The land is proposed to be incorporated into the airport site for ... the expansion of the current runway system as envisaged by Australia Pacific Airports Pty Ltd’s runway development program.’’
The expansion is to provide extra flights to meet growing passenger numbers.
If the current owner cannot be found, it will be compulsorily acquired.
The expansion is part of the Melbourne Airport Master Plan 2013, with a new version to be published in December.
More than 30 million passengers now use Melbourne airport every year, the numbers buoyed by the growth in international flights especially to and from China.
The mystery block of land borders Moorholme Park boarding kennels, which has operated at Tullamarine since 1979. No one from the pet centre was available for comment.
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