Kinglake Who's Who
Public Profile
West Coast Anglicans
"Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.
Connect through my public pages
Public information provided by this member.
Share this Portrait
Distinguished and Famous people from Kinglake
🌾 William Laver, Sir James Barrett and William Everard
Kinglake’s conservation history brings together an unusual trio: music professor William Laver, public figure Sir James Barrett and parliamentarian William Everard. Parks Victoria identifies them among the prominent people who supported creating a national park as farming and timber cutting changed the district. Laver taught music at the University of Melbourne; Barrett led the Town Planning and National Parks Association; Everard served in the Victorian parliament and is commemorated by Mount Everard. Their shared local connection is advocacy for the landscape’s protection. It is a useful reminder that a region’s notable people may include those who worked to preserve it, not only those born within its boundaries.
🌾 Harry and Elizabeth “Lill” Thomson
Harry and Elizabeth “Lill” Thomson helped build Kinglake’s early visitor economy. After farming locally, they ran a guesthouse at Aurelia Villa and established the Kinglake Hotel in 1908. Their business also housed the post office, while Harry carried mail to and from the mountain district for 25 years. Hospitality, communication and transport therefore overlapped in one family enterprise. The hotel was destroyed in the 1926 bushfires, an earlier chapter in Kinglake’s long experience of fire. Their story gives the township’s history a human scale: accommodation and a reliable mail service mattered alongside the scenery that drew visitors.
