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Neighbourhood > Unseen Character Profiles > The McKeller family

The McKeller family
Occupation: Farmers

The McKellers were a farming family who worked the land near the developing Melbourne during the late 19th century. Eventually that land became the Ramsay orchard, and after that Ramsay Street. The farm house where the McKellers lived was located on the exact spot where number 32 Ramsay Street was built.

Mr and Mrs McKeller had nine children, but as was typical of that time, three of their children died in the space of five years. The family used an old pagan ritual to ward off evil spirits, which involved placing articles connected to their deceased children in a box and burying it beneath their home. The mysterious box was later found under no. 32 Ramsay Street by the Hoyland family in 2005. They initially feared it meant the house was cursed but, after some advice from a friend, were relieved to discover it’s true meaning.

Biography by David

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