Cowey family photographs

Horses at The Patch

The Cowey family lived at Weardale, commonly known as ‘The Patch’, where the Melbourne suburb of the same name is now situated. In the 1890s the land became available for farm selection and many families, like the Coweys, farmed berries and small crops, supplying the nearby Monbulk Jam Factory and metropolitan markets.

Born in 1888, Robert Orlando Cowey grew up at The Patch and served in the First World War with the 3rd Battalion at Gallipoli. After the war he returned to The Patch, married and had 3 children. A keen photographer, Cowey documented family life, work, travels and the horses with whom they shared their lives.