Mordialloc and Seaford. In 1866 the Carrum Carrum Swamp was surveyed and the land between Mordialloc Creek and Keast Park in Seaford was divided into 18 allotments and sold by auction for around three pounds per acre. In 1871 the government opened it for selection. The swamp was an impediment to the settlers and there was much discussion on how to reclaim the land, the first contracts for drainage works commenced in 1873. Attempts to reclaim the lower swamplands were ineffective. In 1876 it was decided to cut a 10-metre wide channel to Port Phillip Bay. It was to be known as 'Patterson Cut' and had been named after a State Parliamentarian and commissioner for public works - Sir James Brown Patterson. In 1876 the area that is now occupied by Patterson Lakes was owned by Kate and Henry Woodward,(HRW Woodward and Sons) who used the area for holding pastures for livestock. In the early 1970s some 200 acres of this area was subdivided by the Woodward family into Melbourne's first subdivision around artificial lakes. Other occupants of the area were the Priestly family who had landholdings either side of the Patterson River and ran a marina just east of what is now Pier One Drive. The Fitzgerald family ran a horse riding centre on the north-east corner of Thompsons Road and Old Wells Road on land that is now owned by Melbourne Water. The Walker family also owned some of the southernmost land bordering Eel Race Creek at one stage. The suburb of Patterson Lakes was to be located in Carrum on what was originally part of the Carrum Carrum Swamp. The Carrum Carrum Swamp was drained in 1879 when the Patterson Cut, and other drainage measures were undertaken to prevent flooding of the Eumemmering Creek, which overflowed into the Carrum Carrum Swamp. The mouth of the Patterson Cut was mostly only open during the winter months, so heavy spring and summer rains often caused flooding to properties on the edge of the swamp area. Flood damage as far north as Edithvale often occurred. The only remnants of the Carrum Carrum Swamp now form the Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands (a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.) The Carrum Cowboys The Carrum Cowboys were a group of teenagers, who rode their horses around Carrum and the surrounding areas in the late 1950s and 1960s. The name was a tag given to the group