PASCO, Mr Anthony

1830 - 1904

Anthony Pasco was born in 1829 in St Justin in Roselands, Cornwall, England.  He learned his trade as a carpenter andf in 1854 sailed, with his brothers Thomas and Richard, aboard the Ballarat to Australia, landing in Geelong.

Finding work scarce, they decided to chance their hand on the goldfields and set out for (another) Ballarat.  Taking a wrong turn at Bungaree, Anthony and Thomas (Richard died aboard ship) fortuitously found themselves in Creswick and decided this was the place to settle.

Unfortunately, Thomas died in 1855, and instead of joining others digging and panning, Anthony built himself a shop in Market Squar. In 1860 he moved to a site in Albert Street, where the Splash Park is now, and started a timber and hardware business, supplying the miners with their requirements. He also built a brickworks where Hammon Park is now.

In 1858 Anthony married Mary Ann O'Neill, a marriage which lasted 46 years and produced nine children, five of whom survived. It was the start of a dynasty in which Pasco family members ran their business continuously for over 150 years.

In due course the Pasco enterprice branched out into Funeral Directing and building, a decision which served Creswick well, as many of the major buildings in the new town wer contructed by Anthony Pasco, Some better known ones are:

• Post Office Clock Tower
• School of Mines
• Mechanic's Institute
• Creswick, North Creswick, Dean and Hepburn State Schools
• 13 Gatehouses along the Creswick to Rocky Lean railway line
• Many houses, and permanent resting places at various local cemeteries
• Church at Allendale, Smeaton, Coghill's Creek and Wallace
• The Creswick Bandstand

In 1865, Anthony embarked on his Council service starting with a policy to bring piped water to North Creswick.  This accomplished he went on to be re-elected in 1868 but resigned in 1869.

Anthony Pasco died, aged 75, in 1904.  The heritage he provided for the town of Creswick however lives on, hence his inclusion in Creswick's Civic Honour Roll.