duties. Later that year, he was then able to purchase the neighbouring property Ghirangemerajah, north of Lismore. Now with a sizable staff of station hands, he was able to effectively manage his second property from his base at Mopiamnum. On 6 February 1851, the "Black Thursday" bushfires - one of the worst fires in Australian colonial history - passed over Mopiamnum. While Ormond worked to exhaustion to save some of his flock, the station and much of its grazing land were engulfed by the blaze, including the scrub which covered much of the land. When the rains followed shortly after they renewed the previously worthless scrubland into prime grazing land, which raised the value of Mopiamnum substantially. Ormond sold the land for an advance on the original price his father had paid and, later that year, also sold his second property Ghirangemerajah. He paid his father for Mopiamnum in full and purchased the 30,000 acre (121,405,692 m2) station Borriyalloak near Skipton, east of Piggoreet, along with its flocks of merino sheep. On 2 August 1851, gold was discovered in Ballarat, marking the beginning of the Victorian Gold Rush - one of the biggest gold rushes in the world - which once again raised the value of Ormond's land. With his financial position assured, on 23 November 1851 (his 24th birthday) he married Ann Greeves, the daughter of a distinguished doctor in the district, at the Christ Church in Geelong. Early philanthropic endeavours In 1853, Ormond was made a territorial magistrate, and regularly sat on the Common Bench of towns close to Borriyalloak at Skipton, Linton, Carngham and Chepstowe. He was known as a thoughtful magistrate, devoted to the duties of his office. In 1855, he and two other prominent land owners in the area formed the Skipton Agricultural and Pastoral Association - the first of its kind in the district. The association's annual show became an important event for the district, creating keen competition between pastoralists in the district and contributing to the widespread fame of Australian merino wool. During the mid-1850s, Ormond continued with the educational work he'd began in 1850 and started a class for the children of his employees at Borriyalloak, who were often left on their own while their parents worked the land and not privileged to an education. Ormond was also a devout Presbyterian, and in 1856 - after a town meeting in Skipton -