i
SYNOPSIS
This thesis examines four generations of an Australian family beginning with the arrival of a convict
ancestor in 1814. It traces the history of his family as they adapted to a colonial lifestyle. His
descendants were present at some of the turning points in Australia's history. They were there when
Bigge reported on Macquarie, when gold was discovered in Bendigo and Ballarat, when Gympie
saved Queensland and World War One. That convict, along with his descendants, are part of
Australia's history because they made history in their day to day lives. The little people are often
neglected in the study of history and this is where the study and practice of family history can correct
the imbalance. This thesis is a step in that direction as it tells the story of ordinary people and the
role they played in history.
ii
I, Shauna Laurene Hicks, state that this is my own original work and it has not been presented for any
degree or diploma, nor has it been published. Due to my husband's serious illness, I was unable to
travel interstate as planned to carry out my own research. I employed Helen Doxford Harris to find
and copy specific documents for me in the Public Record Office, Victoria and Perry McIntyre and
Joan Reese obtained documents for me at the Archives Office of New South Wales and the Mitchell
Library. In each instance the record agent looked for specific items at my request - they did not
advise me but simply carried out my instructions. In all other respects the research and writing of this
thesis is my own work.
© Shauna Hicks
Brisbane, 1992
Cataloguing-in- Publication entry
From Iron Chains To Gold Bars Bibliography
Index
1. Australia - Genealogy. 2. Walker family. 3. Bullen family. 3. Potter family. 4. Atkinson family.
I. Hicks, Shauna. II. Title.
iii
FROM IRON CHAINS
TO GOLD BARS
The Story of the Walker family and its descendants including the
Evans, Potter, Bullen and Atkinson Families, 1814-1941
by Shauna Hicks
Brisbane, 1992
iv
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements v
Conversion Table vi
List of Abbreviations vii
List of Illustrations viii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 - Possessing Forged Notes - 4
Richard Walker
Chapter 2 - Colonial Life and The Next 15
Generation of Walkers
Chapter 3 - More Forged Links - Samuel Evans 27
Chapter 4 - The Lure of Gold - Henry Bullen 38
Chapter 5 - Bullens in Queensland 48
Chapter 6 - Portrait of A Mining Entrepreneur - 58
J.B. Atkinson
Chapter 7 - More Mining Entrepreneurs - 71
The Potters
Chapter 8 - Social and Municipal Life in Gympie 79
Conclusion 88
Bibliography 89
Index 96
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A family history is compiled from a number of different sources, held in various libraries and
archives within Australia and overseas. The staff of the Queensland State Archives and the John
Oxley Library in Brisbane were of assistance in helping me locate useful material. Professional
researchers Helen Doxford Harris, Perry McIntyre and Joan Reese obtained documents for me from
record repositories that I was unable to visit personally.
My thanks to Alvan Sebire for sharing with me his work on the Touzeau family. Maren Conroy, my
mother-in-law, had the onerous task of proof reading along the way. Jennifer Harrison has been an
understanding supervisor, advising and assisting me at a time of personal crisis. Without her
enthusiasm and the tremendous encouragement of my husband Michael Conroy and our son Adam, I
would not have finished this manuscript.
I dedicate this history to Michael and Adam Conroy because it is their history.
vi
CONVERSION TABLE
Imperial measurements have been retained in the text as used by contemporaries in the interests of
historical accuracy. The following are approximate conversions.
1 inch 2.5 centimetres
1 foot 0.3 metre
1 mile 1.6 kilometres
1 acre 0.4 hectares
£1 (one pound) $2.00
1s 10 cents
1d 0.8 cents
1 ounce 28 grams
1 pound 450 grams
1 ton 1 tonne
This conversion table appeared in The Women of Botany Bay by Portia Robinson.
vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AANSW Archives Authority of New South Wales
ADB Australian Dictionary of Biography
ADM Admiralty
AJCP Australian Joint Copying Project
AONSW Archives Office of New South Wales
HO Home Office
HRA Historic Records of Australia
HRNSW Historic Records of New South Wales
IGI International Genealogical Index
JOL John Oxley Library
ML Mitchell Library
NSW New South Wales
PRO Public Record Office
QGG Queensland Government Gazette
QLD Queensland
QSA Queensland State Archives
SCMA Soldiers Career Management Authority
VIC Victoria
viii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Facing Page
1. Original trial record - Richard Walker 4
2. Bound indent - Somersetshire, 1814 5
3. Family chart - Richard Walker 8
4. Conditional pardon - Richard Walker 12
5. Family chart - Henry Walker 18
6. Mc Mahon family chart 21
7. Death certificate - Elizabeth McMahon 22
8. Marriage entry - Alfred Austin and Maria Walker 23
9. Monmouth Assize - Samuel Evans 27
10. Evans/Potter family chart 34
11. Marriage entry - Robert Potter and Emma Evans 35
12. Marriage entry - Henry Bullen and Georgiana Evans 36
13. Birth certificate - Emma Jane Bullen 39
14. Bullen family chart 42
15. Coroner's inquest form - Henry Bullen 44
16. Newspaper account of the death of John Hickey 48
17. Marriage certificate - George Bullen and Annie Goody 52
18. Death certificate - Eva Hyde 55
19. Inventory - estate of Abel Hyde 56
20. Inventory - estate of John Wilfred Rawlins 57
21. Family chart - John Barrow Atkinson 58
22. Portrait - John Barrow Atkinson 59
23. Inventory - estate of J.B. Atkinson, 1926 67
24. Scottish Gold Mine, Gympie 68
25. Inquest Certificate of Particulars - William Atkinson 69
26. Affidavit - Mary Ann Potter 71
27. Family chart - Robert Charles Potter 72
28. Family chart - George Alfred Potter 73
29. Wedding notice - Jefferson/Potter 74
30. Tombstone - Clara Beatrice Jefferson 75
31. Illuminated address - Benjamin Wright 76
32. School of Arts, Gympie 77
33. Last will and testament - Edward James Peel 78
34. Newspaper advertisem*nt - George Alfred Potter 79
35. William Smyth's letter of recommendation 81
36. Gympie Hospital 83
37. One Mile State Schools, Gympie 86
38. School sketch plan drawn by J.B. Atkinson 87
1
INTRODUCTION
A family history traces the lives of a person's ancestors but in so doing, it reflects on the history of
their country and society. In Australian history there are a number of dominant themes with convict
and mining legacies just two such themes reflected prominently in this nation's history. Australia's
early development was based on a convict system and the lives of two convicts, Richard Walker and
his son-in-law Samuel Evans are examined in this family history. The commitment that they and
their families gave to colonial New South Wales is self-evident. Richard and Samuel both made
valuable and long lasting contributions and their descendants continued this tradition.
The discovery of gold in Australia led to a new perspective with three of Richard Walker's
grandchildren caught up in the lure for gold. The Victorian goldfields of Ballarat and Bendigo were
exciting places and the families thrived but by the late 1870s the appeal of Gympie gold was greater.
The Bullen and Potter families moved to Queensland assisting yet again in the economic and social
development of a country town.
Richard Walker made a success of his life in New South Wales and his children equally prospered.
The characteristics of adventure, hard work and social responsibility are traits that can still be seen in
their descendants today. Richard Walker and Samuel Evans arrived in this country as criminals but
thanks to Governor Macquarie's vision of New South Wales as a future nation, they were able to put
their pasts behind them.
When Governor Macquarie arrived in 1809 the population of New South Wales was only 10,452 of
whom 13.7% were convicts.1 There were four main settlements in the colony - Sydney, Parramatta,
the Hawkesbury and Newcastle. By 1821 the population had nearly tripled to 29,783 with 41.1%
being convicts.2 During Macquarie's rule the colony expanded in all respects as the crossing of the
Blue Mountains in 1813 opened up more land for settlement and Macquarie's building programme
transformed Sydney into a town.
1 Hewison, Anthony, The Macquarie Decade : Documents
Illustrating the History of New South Wales, 1810-1821,
Cassell Australia, Melbourne, 1972, p. 9.
2 Hewison, p. 9.
2
It was to the colonial penal settlement of New South Wales that Richard Walker was transported to in
1814. The decision to transport England's convicts to New South Wales from 1787 onwards was
seen as a solution to England's ever increasing crime problem although economic and Imperial
considerations were also factors. The convict system played a major role in the economic
development of New South Wales. A large percentage of those transported made a success of their
enforced emigration. William Redfern, Francis Greenway, George Howe, Simeon Lord and Mary
Reiby are just some of those transported who went on to contribute substantially to Australia's long
term economic progress.
Macquarie had to reverse the effects of the earlier inefficient and/or incapable administrations of the
Naval Governors. His ideal of equal social status through making the convicts into decent and
worthwhile citizens brought him into conflict with the colony's free settlers. Emancipists formed a
new stratum of society which earlier Governors were not sure how to deal with.
Officially Governor Macquarie assumed office on 1 January 1810 having arrived in Sydney Harbour
on 25 December 1809. Frank Driscoll, an historian, states that from the beginning Macquarie had
two main aims - the promotion of the material development of the colony and the reinstatement of all
convicts into society.3 To this end Macquarie systematized and developed the assignment of convicts
so that rehabilitation was one of the chief objectives. After the arrival of a transport, the convicts
were mustered for inspection prior to disembarkation. They were then given new clothes along with
their bedding and any personal belongings.
3 Driscoll, Frank, "Macquarie's Administration of the
Convict System" in the Journal and Proceedings of the
Royal Australian Historical Society, Vol. XXVII, Pt.
VI, 1941, p. 386.
3
Macquarie's rule was a turning point, as it was not until then that convicts were given incentives to
forget their pasts. Richard Walker's story provides a backdrop for the reforms introduced by
Macquarie and how these reforms affected the convicts and their families.
4
CHAPTER ONE - POSSESSING FORGED NOTES
- RICHARD WALKER
Richard Walker was born in either London or Worcester about 1768. Research has failed to identify
either his parents or his exact date and place of birth. In 1812 Richard was 44 years old, married with
a wife and five children. He was a surgeon and apothecary. In the eighteenth century there were two
main divisions in the medical world - physicians and surgeons. Physicians enjoyed a higher social
status as they often had university degrees in medicine. Surgeons, on the other hand, acted as general
practitioners of medicine and dentistry; they set bones, pulled teeth and served as medical advisers
and apothecaries. Socially surgeons were between tradesmen and professional men.1
Richard's life and that of his family radically changed on 26 December 1812 when he was indicted
for having forged bank notes in his possession.2 At the Old Bailey on 2 June 1813 he faced two
charges. The first was that on 26 December 1812 he had in his possession a forged two shilling bank
note and that he knew that it was forged. Richard pleaded guilty to this indictment and received a
sentence of 14 years transportation.3
The second charge was "feloniously forging, disposing of and putting away" a forged two shilling
bank note on 26 December 1812. The counsel for the prosecution Mr. Knapp did not offer any
evidence. Richard was acquitted of this charge.4 The convict indent depicts a man five feet four
inches tall, with dark complexion, silvery grey hair and hazel eyes.5
1 Hamilton-Edwards, Gerald, In Search of Welsh Ancestry,
Phillimore, Chichester (Sussex),1986, p. 39-40.
2 AJCP, Home Office, Criminal Registers, Newgate Gaol, 1813, Reel No. 2735, Piece No. 19.
3 ML, Old Bailey Trials, 2 June 1813, No. 552, p. 303, FM4 5846.
4 ML, Old Bailey Trials, 2 June 1813, No. 553, p. 303, FM4 5846.
5 AONSW, Bound Indents, Fiche No. 635.
5
Richard was transported to New South Wales on board the Somersetshire along with 200 male
convicts. Also on board to guard Richard Walker and his fellow convicts was a detachment of 30
men under the command of Captain Nairn. On their arrival in the colony they were to join the 46th
Regiment. The ship's cargo included 23 casks (bonded) wine; 32 hogs. of porter and 60 baskets of
tobacco.6 The Somersetshire with a tonnage of 450 tons, was built in 1810 at Thames, England.7
She sailed from Spithead, England on 10 May 1814 under master Alex Scott. She sailed first to
Madrid/Madeira and then on to Rio arriving there on 13 July 1814 where the Somersetshire stayed
for ten days.8 The vessel finally arrived in Sydney on 16 October 1814 after a voyage of 159 days.
During the voyage there was one birth and two deaths. A baby girl was born to the family of Private
Quintin Owen on 30 September 1814. Private Andrew Johnston died of an intermitting fever before
the Somersetshire reached Rio. While at Rio, a convict James Brown alias White, formerly a
prisoner from the Retribution at Woolwich, was lost, supposedly drowned while attempting to
escape from the vessel.9
Following disembarkation from the Somersetshire, Richard was among a group of 50 male convicts
forwarded to Windsor for distribution.10 The Windsor area was first settled in 1794 and for many
years the area supplied Sydney with its food supply. The constant flooding of the Hawkesbury River,
34 miles west northwest of Sydney, was a major problem for the farmers in the district.
Governor Macquarie quickly realised that the Hawkesbury River area was the Colony's best
agricultural asset and he planned a series of market towns which he hoped would stimulate progress.
The towns of Windsor, Richmond, Castlereagh, Pitt-Town and Wilberforce were established and
6 HRA, Series 1, Vol. VIII, p. 591.
7 Bateson, Charles, The Convict Ships : 1787-1868, A.H. &
A.W. Reed, Sydney, 1974, pp. 340-341.
8 Sydney Gazette, 22 October 1814, p. 2, c. a.
9 Sydney Gazette, 22 October 1814, p.2, c. a.
10 AONSW, Reel No. 6004; 4/3493, p. 346.
6
linked by road to Sydney and Parramatta. At Windsor a bridge, wharf, military barracks and a
convict barracks were built.11
The trip to Windsor would have been a long and arduous one for Richard Walker and his fellow
assignees. In 1805 William Roberts started a primitive transport service between Windsor and
Sydney. The 16-hour trip was made every three weeks in a kind of covered wagon, roads permitting.
It was not until 1832 that the first coach ran between Windsor and Sydney.12 Therefore when
Richard Walker set out for Windsor it is unlikely that he and his companions had a pleasant trip.
Few records relating to the assignment and employment of convicts have survived. It has not been
possible to establish who Richard Walker was assigned to or to determine what type of work he was
required to perform.
Part of Governor Macquarie's policy for the management of convicts was to encourage them to bring
out their wives and families. It was not until 1812 that convict wives became an official concern of
the British Government. The Select Committee set up to report on transportation to New South
Wales recommended that "greater facility" be given by the government to granting passages for
wives and children to join their exiled husbands and fathers.13 It was hoped that this would improve
the morality of Botany Bay. Family men were transported and where their families were given
permission to join them, the family formed a "nucleus of normality" within convict society.14
Free convict wives who obtained passage to New South Wales formed a unique social group, quite
often finding themselves in unexpected domestic situations. They became the head of the household,
with their husbands as assigned servants and it was the wives who applied for land grants, licenses or
11 Ruhen, Olaf and Adams, Bruce, Macquarie's Five Towns,
Horwitz Publications, Sydney, 1970, p. 32.
12 Park, Ruth, The Companion Guide To Sydney, Collins,
Sydney, 1973, p. 189.
13 Robinson, Portia, The Women Of Botany Bay : A
Reinterpretation Of The Role Of Women In The Origins Of
Australian Society, Macquarie Library, Sydney, 1988, p. 138.
14 Robinson, p. 146.
7
indulgences.15 The free mother's economic value to her family and society was greater in New South
Wales than it ever would have been at home. Colonial society offered these women and their
families respectability and opportunities for economic independence which they may not have had in
the home country.
Richard Walker's wife Dorothy and their five children followed him out to New South Wales the
following year on board the 548-ton Northampton, which had been built in 1801 at Thames,
England. Under Master Jn. O. Tween and Surgeon Joseph Arnold she sailed from Portsmouth,
England on 1 January 1815.16 On board were 110 female convicts plus a number of free women,
some with families, making the trip to join their convict husbands.
The Northampton arrived in Sydney on 18 June 1815 via Rio where she arrived on 28 February
1815 for a stay of three weeks.17 Four female convicts died during the voyage of 169 days. They
were Eliz. Cowan at Rio; Ann Turner fell overboard and drowned at Rio; Susan Frost died at sea
after leaving Rio; and Mrs. Shirwell died a fortnight before reaching Sydney. Seven of the free
passengers on board also died. Mrs. Dodman and her two children were buried at Rio; Mrs. Noble
and Mrs. Higgins each lost one child and Mrs. Drake two children.18 As Dorothy Walker watched
some of her fellow travellers lose their children, she must have worried about the wellbeing of her
own family. The decision to join her convict husband in exile would have been a courageous
decision to make.
15 Robinson, p. 125.
16 Bateson, pp. 340-341.
17 Sydney Gazette, 24 June 1815, p. 2, c. a.
18 AONSW, Colonial Secretary's Correspondence, Reel No. 6045, pp. 154-174.
8
On arrival at Port Jackson on 19 June 1815 Surgeon Joseph Arnold wrote to Governor Lachlan
Macquarie to inform him of the change in the regulations respecting convict ships. The Transport
Board directed that naval surgeons be appointed to convict ships. They were given the authority to
act as Government agents in favour of the convicts and passengers on board.
In addition, surgeons were required to keep the following lists - female convicts, convicts children,
male passengers, female passengers, passengers children, accounts of deaths on board and a report of
sick presently on board. Surgeon Arnold submitted all these lists to Governor Macquarie as required
under the new regulations.19 On the list of free female passengers was Dorothy Walker and her five
children - George (20), Henry (14), Elizabeth (13), Emma (8) and Maria (5).20 After disembarking
the free women immediately joined their husbands.21
Now reunited with his family, Richard received ticket of leave No. 292 in July 1815.22 The ticket
granted him the freedom to live and work in a particular area until either his sentence expired or he
was pardoned. It also meant that he could be self-employed or hire himself out. Richard was
appointed a clerk in the General Hospital presumably because of his medical experience.
Soon after his arrival Macquarie realised that a new general hospital was needed urgently. In 1810
tenders were called and the design chosen was ambitious. The foundation stone was laid the
following year in 1811 but it was not until March 1816 that the buildings were finished. The first
patients were admitted in July of that year. Staff in the Hospital included D'Arcy Wentworth as
Principal Surgeon and William Redfern, Assistant Surgeon. The unqualified staff consisted of an
overseer, an attendant/clerk, a gatekeeper, a matron and a number of male and female nurses.23 All
of these positions were held by convicts. It is probable that Richard Walker was engaged as the
19 AONSW, Reel No. 6045, 4/1732, pp. 154-174.
20 AONSW, Reel No. 6045, 4/1732, pp. 160 and 163.
21 HRA, Series I, Vol. VIII, p. 554.
22 AJCP, Colonial Office, Reel No. 201, Piece No. 118, p. 253.
23 Watson, J. Frederick, The History of The Sydney Hospital
from 1811 to 1911, Government Printer, Sydney, 1911, p. 36.
9
attendant who acted as a clerk. Hospital employees received no salary but were victualled from
government stores. The clerk/attendant and the overseer lived in one of the kitchens while the rest
lived away from the Hospital.24
Each morning Redfern inspected the wards along with the overseer, clerk and assistant, examining
each patient and any prescriptions were noted by the clerk in the casebook.25 Richard's previous
experience as a surgeon and apothecary would have made him an ideal person for the position of
clerk/attendant. In 1819 James Bowman became Principal Surgeon following Wentworth's
retirement and he immediately set about reorganising the Hospital. Staff were increased and it is
about this time that Richard took up a position as clerk in the Commissariat.
Richard is listed in a Commissariat Return of Storekeepers and Extra Clerks dated 25 January 1819.26
Later that year on 4 December 1819 Richard wrote a petition to Governor Macquarie in which he
stated that for some years he had been a clerk in the Commissariat and before that a clerk in the
General Hospital. Richard reminded Governor Macquarie of "the flattering promise made him in
December 1817". This was apparently delayed the following year due to the Governor's general
orders of 1818. He concluded by saying he had a wife and five children in the colony.27 Richard's
petition was favourably received and on 31 January 1820 he was granted a conditional pardon.28 The
only restriction on Richard now was that he could not return to England.
Continuing to work at the Commissariat, Richard was listed on the Return of Storekeepers and Extra
Clerks in the Commissariat dated 24 June 1820.29 A list of rations dated 8 September 1821 shows
that Richard received one ration for himself, a half ration for his wife and three quarter rations for his
24 Watson, p. 36.
25 Watson, pp. 39-40.
26 AONSW, Colonial Secretary's Correspondence, Fiche No. 3301, 4/1093.2, p. 1.
27 AONSW, Petition, Fiche No. 3201, 4/1860, p. 72.
28 AONSW, Conditional Pardon, Fiche No. 822, No. 148.
29 AONSW, Colonial Secretary's Correspondence, Reel No. 6049, 4/1744, p. 373.
10
three youngest children.30 In 1814 rations were six pounds bread, seven pounds beef or four pounds
pork, one and a half pounds of sugar or one pound of rice. By 1820 the rations for men in private
employ were seven pounds beef or four pounds pork, eight pounds wheat, tea, sugar, milk and
vegetables. Women and children received similar rations with only four and two pounds meat and
ten and eight ounces flour respectively.31
In 1822 a general muster and a land and stock muster was held in New South Wales.32 Richard
Walker was still working as a clerk in the Commissariat in Sydney and lived with his wife Mary and
two youngest daughters Emma and Maria. This muster records his wife's name as Mary not Dorothy.
As reference to Dorothy's death or Richard's remarriage has not been located, the discrepancy in
names is assumed to be a clerical error at either the time of the muster or on the original passenger
list.
The 1822 Muster recorded Richard's eldest daughter Elizabeth married to John McMahon, living in
Sydney and his son Henry was an apprentice to Reuben Uther in Sydney.33 Uther, a 31 year old
hatter with premises at 87 Pitt Street, Sydney had arrived free in June 1807 on board the Sydney
Cove.34 He worked as a clerk for Simeon Lord until he established a hat factory in Hunter Street in
March 1815. The following year Uther moved the factory to the Pitt Street premises where Henry
Walker served his apprenticeship in the hat trade.
30 AONSW, Colonial Secretary's Correspondence, Reel No. 6016, 4/5781, p. 64.
31 Driscoll, p. 404.
32 General Muster and Land and Stock Muster of New South
Wales, 1822, Australian Biographical and Genealogical Record
in association with Society of Australian Genealogists, Sydney, 1988, pp. 490-491.
33 General Muster, 1822, pp. 490-491.
34 Pike, Douglas, ed., Australian Dictionary of Biography,
Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Vic), 1966, Vol. 2, p. 548.
11
On 21 October 1823 Mary Walker died at the age of 47 years. She was buried in the Sandhills
cemetery with her grandson George Henry McMahon who had died the previous year.35 As her age
is given on the tombstone, it is probable that she was the mother of Richard Walker's children. Was
her name Dorothy and she was known as Mary or was an error made on the passenger list? This is
still a mystery, but it appears that Dorothy and Mary were one and the same person.
The 1828 Census of New South Wales recorded Richard as free by servitude, protestant, gave his
occupation as lodger and his employer as Samuel Evans, Pitt Street, Sydney. He was now 60 years
old and living with his daughter Emma and her husband Samuel Evans.36 Richard Walker died and
was buried in Sydney on 29 June 1832.37
35 Johnson, Keith and Sainty, Malcolm R., Gravestone
Inscriptions, N.S.W., Vol. 1 : Sydney Burial Ground - Elizabeth
and Devonshire Streets, Genealogical Publications of Australia,
Sydney, 1973, No. 38, p. 3.
36 Sainty, Malcolm R. and Johnson, Keith A., ed., Census of
New South Wales, November 1828, Library of Australian
History, Sydney, 1980, p. 379.
37 AONSW, Reel No. 5004, Vol. 16, No. 1456.
12
CHAPTER 2 - COLONIAL LIFE AND
THE NEXT GENERATION OF WALKERS
Richard Walker's sons and daughters settled into colonial society and established new lives for
themselves.
No reference to Richard's eldest son George was found in the 1822 Muster nor was he mentioned in
the 1828 Census. No reference to his death has been located. A young man named George Walker
drowned in Port Macquarie in 1820 while mooring the schooner Prince Regent which had been on
an expedition to the area.1 As the eldest child, George may not have liked living in New South
Wales and returned to England. No evidence has been found to link George with any positive fact
and his life remains a mystery.
Richard's second son Henry was a hatmaker by trade. It was an occupation that he followed for the
rest of his life. High beaver hats and top hats were very fashionable for gentlemen in the 1820s and
about this time, the cabbage tree hat and caps of kangaroo skin were growing in popularity.2 The
beaver hat remained popular until the 1850s especially for all occasions in town. A low crowned,
informal hat known as the "wide -awake" was usually worn in the country. The cabbage tree hat was
to be seen everywhere on the goldfields while beaver top hats made of silk or felt were found in the
towns.3 By choosing a trade in the clothing industry, Henry ensured a secure and profitable lifestyle
for his family.
On 12 February 1824 he married Frances Phillips in St. Phillip's Church, Sydney.4 William Cowper
performed the ceremony with Henry's brother-in-law John McMahon as a witness. Both John and
1 Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 23 Dec
1820, p. 3, c. b.
2 Scandrett, Elizabeth, Breeches and Bustles : An
Illustrated History of Clothes Worn In Australia, 1788-1914,
Pioneer Design Studio Pty. Ltd., Lilydale (Vic), 1978, 1820-1830 Section.
3 Scandrett, 1850-1860 Section.
4 AONSW, Reel No. 5002, Vol. 3, No. 3288 and Reel No. 5002, Vol. 8, No. 331.
13
Frances signed their names while Henry made his mark.5 St. Phillip's Church was the first regular
Anglican Church, started by Governor Hunter on Church Hill. The foundation stone was laid by him
in 1798 replacing a wattle-and-daub chapel.6 Governor King finished the work naming it after
Governor Phillip. The Church has been described as an ugly building tacked on to a tall clock tower
that was used as an observatory by the military.7 Opening for worship in 1809, it was finally
replaced in 1856 by the new St. Philip's, now named after the saint (with one l in Philip) and not the
first Governor (who had two ls in Phillip).
Frances Phillips was the daughter of George Phillips, a convict who arrived on 12 June 1801 on
board the Earl Cornwallis. Two-year-old Frances and her convict mother Frances Jackson arrived
in New South Wales on 24 June 1804 on board the Experiment. A baby sister Sarah was born
during the voyage.8
On 7 September 1824 Henry Walker presented a petition to Governor Brisbane stating that he had
come free to the colony with his family and had since married a young colonial born woman. He
requested a grant of land to enable him to "enter into the Agricultural pursuits of Life".9 When
presenting a petition to the Governor, the petitioner had to have it endorsed by either a magistrate or a
clergyman. Henry took his to Assistant Chaplain Richard Hill who wrote "I know nothing to the
prejudice of Henry Walker" when recommending the petition.10
5 AONSW, Reel No. 5002, Vol. 8, No. 331.
6 Ruhen, Olaf, Historic Buildings of Sydney Sketchbook,
Rigby, Sydney, 1972, p. 16.
7 Van Sommers, Tess, Sydney Sketchbook, Rigby, Adelaide,
1968, p. 50.
8 Smee, C.J. and Selkirk-Provis, J., The Pioneer Register,
2nd. ed., Spit Junction (NSW), 1983, Vol. II, no pagination.
9 AONSW, Memorial, Fiche No. 3115, 4/1840A, No. 1013, pp. 49-52.
10 AONSW, Memorial, Fiche No. 3115, 4/1840A, No. 1013, pp. 49-52.
14
It appears that they had no intention of actually settling on the land they were given as Henry was a
hatmaker not a farmer. In 1828 the census records them as living at Cumberland Street, Sydney with
Henry's occupation still listed according to his trade - hatter.11 This document does not record their
infant daughter Frances Emma born in 1827 while Henry's wife is listed as Fanny, a common
variation for Frances.
Henry and Frances Walker had thirteen children. From 1836 to 1845 when their last child was born,
they lived in Pitt Street, Sydney while Henry was working as a hatter.12 By 1861 the family had
moved to 53 Forbes Street.13 Henry died on 29 October 1883 at his residence in Norton Street,
Ashfield, Sydney and was buried in St. John's cemetery, Ashfield.14 His wife Frances died at
Summer Hill, Sydney on 10 March 1893 at the age of 90 years.15
Richard's eldest daughter Elizabeth married John McMahon, a cabinetmaker, born in the colony
about 1799. They were married by Richard Hill in St. Phillip's Church on 26 April 1821 with her
father Richard and sister Emma as witnesses who all signed their names.16
On 27 September 1824 John McMahon requested a grant of land. His memorial to Governor
Brisbane states that he was "possessed of sufficient means to cultivate a farm". It was endorsed by
John Piper and William Cowper who described John as "an industrious and well conducted young
and married man".17 Governor Brisbane noted that John could receive 60 acres in any surveyed
district but on consideration of residing there. A further notation states that "It will not be convenient
11 1828 NSW Census, p. 378.
12 AONSW, Reel No. 5008, Vol. 30, No. 83.
13 NSW Post Office Directory, 1861, alphabetical section.
14 Sydney Morning Herald, 30 October 1883, p. 12, c. a.
15 Smee and Selkirk-Provis, Vol. VII, no pagination.
16 AONSW, Reel No. 5002, Vol. 8, No. 139.
17 AONSW, Memorial, Fiche No. 3102, 4/1838B, No. 697, pp. 1047-1051.
15
for John McMahon to commence farming personally on the land at present".18 It is not known if
John ever actually received the grant as he remained living in Cambridge Street, Sydney.
On 10 May 1825 John presented another memorial to Governor Brisbane in which he requested to be
made Superintendent of Mechanics on Norfolk Island.19 He was responding to a rumour that a penal
settlement was to be established there, mentioning that he was by trade a carpenter, joiner and cabinet
maker by trade having served a regular apprenticeship. John's petition was endorsed by William
Cowper and John Piper, his earlier referees. The latter wrote that John was "a well conducted sober
colonial youth". Despite his qualifications, his services were not required.
Governor Macquarie had been in charge when Norfolk Island closed as a penal settlement in 1814.
Concern for naval strategy in the Pacific prompted Bathurst in a despatch dated 22 July 1824 to order
the reoccupation of Norfolk Island. Governor Brisbane approved the decision and sent a military
detachment to the island on 6 June 1825.20
From these two memorials John McMahon's character is clearly revealed. He fits perfectly the
description given to the first generation of currency lads and lasses described by historians such as
Russel Ward and Manning Clark as a self respecting, moral, law abiding, industrious and sober
group. Both William Cowper and John Piper used those same words in their endorsem*nts of John
McMahon.
Historians McNab and Ward attribute this to a number of factors including the Australian
environment, the perennial labour shortage and the relatively high standard of living.21 They
18 AONSW, Memorial, Fiche No. 3102, 4/1838B, No. 697, pp. 1047-1051.
19 AONSW, Memorial, Fiche No. 3147, 4/1843B, No. 592, pp. 815-817.
20 Crowley, Frank, ed., A New History of Australia, William
Heinemann, Melbourne, 1974, p. 49.
21 Macnab, Ken and Ward, Russel, "The Nature and Nurture of
the First Generation of Native-Born Australians", Historical
Studies, Vol. 10, No. 39, November 1962,
16
summed it up in terms of two interacting forces. Firstly, there was a psychological reaction against a
convict "taint" and secondly, the pressure of the socio-economic environment of the colony.22 Native
born youths reacted against their home environments by becoming independent and self-supporting
which was possible in a country where labour was scarce and wages high.
John and Elizabeth McMahon had eleven children, four of whom died in infancy. Their first child
George Henry was born in February 1822 but he only lived for fifteen days, dying on 5 March 1822.23
When George Henry's grandmother Mary Walker died the following year on 21 October 1823, she
was buried with her tiny grandson. They shared a joint tombstone in the Sandhills cemetery until the
tombstone was relocated to Bunnerong cemetery in 1901.24 Originally 2,285 tombstones were
transferred from the Sandhills cemetery to Old Bunnerong cemetery in 1901. Of these only 746 have
survived, now located in Pioneer Memorial Park which was created in 1976 by the Botany Cemetery
Trust.25 The McMahon/Walker tombstone has not survived.
The other children to die in infancy were Mary Ann aged two years, Richard aged one year and Mary
Morley aged six months. When Mary Morley died in 1839 the family were living in Princes Street,
Sydney.26 By the time their seventh child Thomas died on 10 October 1844, being buried the same
day, the family were living at Clyde Street, Sydney.27 Four years later, John and Elizabeth's
pp. 289-308.
22 McNab and Ward, p. 303.
23 Johnson and Sainty, No. 38, p. 3.
24 Johnson and Sainty, No. 38, p. 3.
25 No author, Pioneer Memorial Park at Botany Cemetery, Cape
Banks Family History Society Inc., 1988, no pagination.
26 AONSW, Reel No. 5002, Vol. 8, No. 1075; Reel No. 5001, Vol. 2, No. 7181 and Reel No. 5005, Vol. 23, No. 78.
27 Low, Francis, The City of Sydney Directory, 1844-45,
facsimile reprint, Library of Australian History, Sydney, 1978, p.78 and AONSW, Reel No. 5008, Vol 29, No. 440.
17
youngest daughter, another Mary, died on 15 October 1848 at their residence in Clyde Street, Sydney.
She was aged five years and six months and had died from concussion on the brain.28
John McMahon died two years later on 28 November 1850 at his residence in Clyde Street. He was
50 years old and working as a joiner. The cause of death was "a lingering illness of seven weeks,
borne with Christian fortitude".29 He was buried on 1 December 1850 in the Camperdown
cemetery.30
His wife Elizabeth McMahon aged 73 years died of uterine cancer on 15 August 1875 at her son-in-
law Joseph Henry Reeve's residence at Mount Street, East St. Leonards.31 It was noted that on
Elizabeth's death certificate her mother's name was given as Mary Martin. This is a further indication
that the passenger list for the Northampton was inaccurate when it listed the Walker children's
mother as Dorothy and not Mary as all other sources suggest.
Elizabeth was buried in St. Thomas' Church of England cemetery in North Sydney. There is a
memorial to her and four of her grandchildren - Samuel John, aged 9 months; Joseph Henry aged 4
years 3 months; Susan Annie aged 4 years 6 months and Joseph aged 12 hours.32 They were the
children of Elizabeth's daughter Annie and her husband Joseph Henry Reeve.
Richard Walker's youngest daughter Maria married Alfred Hill Austin, a draper in Sydney on 24
August 1835 in a Presbyterian ceremony performed by John Dunmore Lang.33
28 Sydney Morning Herald, 18 Oct 1848, p. 4, c. d.
29 Sydney Morning Herald, 30 Nov 1850, p. 3, c. b.
30 AONSW, Reel No. 5011, Vol. 36, No. 934.
31 NSW Death Certificate, No. 4310 of 1875 and Sydney Morning
Herald, 16 August 1875, p. 1, c. a and p. 8, c. a.
32 Lea-Scarlett, E.J., St. Thomas' Church of England, North
Sydney, Monumental Inscriptions in the Cemetery, Society of
Australian Genealogists, Sydney, 1963, section 2, no. 30.
33 AONSW, Reel No. 5027, Vol. 73, No. 409.
18
Alfred arrived as a free person on the Medway in Sydney on 6 January 1826. The Medway was a
convict transport with 175 male convicts on board for Hobart in Van Diemen's Land. The ship
followed the direct route with no stopovers and arrived after 132 days having sailed on 2 August
1825.34 Soon after leaving England a low malignant fever broke out and after passing the Cape of
Good Hope scurvy developed with five convicts dying.35
After discharging its convicts, the Medway proceeded to Sydney where Alfred Austin
disembarked.36 Also on board was the Reverend John Dunmore Lang who performed Alfred's
marriage ceremony ten years later. Lang was returning to Sydney and due to his interest in
transportation, he applied for permission to travel on a convict ship to study the convicts and their
attitudes to banishment. He had a free passage on the Medway which gave him an empty space
about six feet square between the decks without a bed, locker or any other furniture.37 Rations
consisted of salt beef, salt pork, bread, biscuits, tea, sugar and rum, the same as that of the soldiers
who were expected to do their own cooking. Alfred Austin, as a free passenger would have had
similar privileges.
In 1828 Alfred lived in Elizabeth Street, Sydney and worked for James Norton as a clerk.38 Norton, a
solicitor, arrived in the colony in September 1818 on board the Maria.39 At that time there were only
four other solicitors in New South Wales. His legal practice flourished and in 1826 Norton went into
partnership with William Barker. Alfred Austin stayed with the firm for a number of years.
34 Bateson, pp. 358-359 and 385.
35 Baker, D.W.A., Days of Wrath : A Life of John Dunmore
Lang, Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Vic), 1985, p. 44.
36 Sydney Gazette, 9 January 1826, p. 2, c. a.
37 Baker, p. 43.
38 1828 NSW Census, p. 37.
39 Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 2, p. 289.
19
Alfred and Maria's first child, William, was born in August 1836 but died six weeks later. He was
buried in the Devonshire Street cemetery on 24 September 1836.40 Their second son, Alfred Wesley,
was born on 28 October 1839 but died the following day. He was buried with his older brother.41
On 26 October 1840 Alfred Hill Austin accepted a Colonial Government appointment as an Inspector
with the Water Police at Watson's Bay. The position paid an annual salary of £182 10s with living
quarters and rations provided.42
Alfred and Maria's first and only daughter Rosina was born on 18 July 1842. She was baptised by
the Wesleyan Minister D.I. Draper on 15 August 1842. At the time the family were living at South
Head Road.43
Alfred left his position of Inspector, Water Police on 7 February 1844 after being appointed to the
position of Harbour Master and Pilot at Newcastle. The position paid an annual salary of £100 plus
an allowance of £25 per annum in lieu of a personal residence.44 In Newcastle's early days, vessels
gained entrance to the harbour via the difficult passage between Nobby's and Signal Hill. After a
number or wrecks, the entrance between Nobby's and Stockton was then used although sailing ships
continued to be blown ashore due to wind currents in the area.45
Between 1839 and 1849 Newcastle had a population of 2,300.46 It is believed that the first
Presbyterian services conducted in Newcastle were by Rev. Dr. J. Dunmore Lang of the Scots
40 AONSW, Reel No. 5004, Vol. 20, No. 433.
41 AONSW, Reel No. 5005, Vol. 23, No. 122.
42 AONSW, 1840 Blue Book, Fiche No. 486, pp. 196-197.
43 AONSW, Reel No. 5019, Vol. 54, No. 216.
44 AONSW, 1846 Blue Book, Fiche No. 519, p. 226.
45 No author, City of Newcastle Souvenir Civic Week 1929,
Newcastle, 1929, no pagination, in section "Wrecks".
46 City of Newcastle Souvenir, section "Newcastle Upon
Tyne".
20
Church, Sydney. Prior to the building of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in 1850, Presbyterian
services were held in the Court House in Hunter Street as early as 1844.47
On 17 July 1844 their third son Alfred George Wesley Austin was born at their Newcastle home.48
He was baptised on 22 August 1844 by Frederick Lewis, the Wesleyan Minister for the Hunter River
Circuit.49 Alfred George Wesley Austin, aged one year and ten months old, died at Balmain on 20
February 1846. The death notice in the Sydney Morning Herald reported that he died "after a long
and painful illness".50 Alfred and Maria erected a tombstone to their three sons in the Devonshire
Street cemetery as a permanent memorial to their grief.51 Later that same year on 1 August 1846
47 City of Newcastle Souvenir, section "Church History".
48 Sydney Morning Herald, 24 July 1844, p. 3, c. b.
49 AONSW, Reel No. 5019, Vol. 54, No. 1114.
50 Sydney Morning Herald, 21 February 1846, p. 3, c. c.
51 Johnson and Sainty, No. 200, p. 13.
21
Alfred left the position of Harbour Master and Pilot at Newcastle.52 Extensive research has failed to
establish what Alfred and Maria Austin did after they left Newcastle.
52 AONSW, 1846 Blue Book, Fiche No. 519, p. 226.
22
CHAPTER 3 - MORE FORGED LINKS - SAMUEL EVANS
Richard Walker's children Henry, Elizabeth and Maria through their marriages to free born persons
moved away from convict society. Their sister Emma chose to marry convict Samuel Evans in St.
Phillip's, Sydney on 20 July 1826.1 Her husband was born about 1792 in Monmouth, Wales. He
appeared before the Monmouth Lent Assizes on 30 March 1818 and received a sentence of 14 years
transportation for "having and forged bank notes".2 This was the same crime for which Emma's
father, Richard Walker, had been transported four years earlier.
Samuel was a 26-year-old shoemaker when sentenced. He was 5 feet 5½ inches tall with black hair,
blue eyes and a pale complexion.3 Samuel was transported on the Baring, making her second trip
with convicts aboard with Captain John Lamb and Surgeon David Reid. The Baring, an East
Indiaman with a tonnage of 842 tons was built at the Thames in 1801 was the second largest convict
ship employed between 1815-1820.4
The Baring sailed on 27 January 1819 and arrived five months later on 26 June 1819 having stopped
at Madrid and Hobart along the way. There were 300 male convicts on board, five of whom died.
Another five convicts were landed at Hobart and the remaining 290 convicts at Sydney.5 A military
guard consisting of a Detachment of the 48th commanded by Captain Coates of the 89th Regiment
accompanied by his wife and family, were in charge of Samuel Evans and his fellow convicts.
By 1819 most passages to Australia were under 130 days so the Baring's lengthy trip of 150 days
meant that some health problems developed on board. The Baring was scheduled to have sailed
from Sheerness on 18 December 1818 but while entering the Downs she ran aground. When free she
returned to Dock at Chatham, finally sailing on 27 January 1819. Near the Equator, the Baring was
1 AONSW, Reel No. 5015, Vol. 44, No. 414.
2 AJCP, Home Office, Reel No. 2761, Piece No. 27/16,
pp. 878-879 and The London Times, 10 April 1818, p. 3, c. e.
3 AONSW, Bound Indents, Fiche No. 638, p. 319.
4 Bateson, pp. 342-343.
5 Bateson, pp. 342-343.
23
detained by light winds which persevered as the vessel neared Australia, severely delaying her
progress.6
The incidence of scurvy on board forced the Baring to land at Hobart on 14 June 1819 for fresh
provisions and water. Five of the sick convicts were landed, one of whom died the following day.
The Baring then went on to Port Jackson which was reached on 26 June 1819. Credit for not having
more deaths on board was given to Captain Lamb and Doctor Reid for their "unremitting, humane,
zealous attentions" to the convicts.7 In 1822 Charles Queade, Surgeon on board the Minerva
referred to the Baring incident. He stated that on arrival in Hobart 50-60 convicts were exceedingly
ill with scurvy. Queade stated that Reid had dispensed lemon juice and sugar regularly but had been
unable to halt or cure the disease. Queade's numbers may have been exaggerated because when the
convicts arrived in Sydney, Macquarie reported them in good health.8
Doctor David Reid's own journal reveals the true nature of the voyage. In his summary he reported
the following cases :-
Scurvy and diarrhoea 35 with 5 deaths
Wounds and accidents 1
Acute rheumatism 3
Jaundice with affection of liver 11
Apoplexy 1 9
The names of those convicts sick during the voyage were not given so it is not known if Samuel
Evans was one of those afflicted. Reid's journal also gives an account of life on board. He wrote that
6 Bateson, pp. 210-211.
7 HRA, Series 1, Vol. X, p. 191.
8 HRA, Series 1, Vol. X, p. 618.
9 AJCP, Admiralty, Medical Journal of the Baring, Reel No.
3189, Piece No. 101/7.
24
"every attention was paid to drynefs (sic) & ventilation and stoves were burning in the prison the
whole day ..... when the weather was very fine and we could get all the Convicts on Deck".10
After arriving in Sydney Macquarie had some difficulty in assigning the convicts from the Baring as
only about one third of them were taken off Government Stores, the free settlers not wanting any
servants. This was due chiefly to the recent floods in the Hawkesbury and Nepean Rivers,
impoverishing the settlers.11 As Samuel's name was not on the list of 136 convicts assigned out, he
probably remained in Sydney to ply his trade of shoemaker.12 His future father-in-law, John Crane,
was also a convict shoemaker, possibly assigned to the same work area.
During Macquarie's rule, convicts were issued with one coarse woollen jacket and either a grey or
yellow waistcoat, one pair duck trousers, one pair worsted stockings, two cotton or linen shorts, one
neck handkerchief and one woollen cap. Every six months they could expect to receive one woollen
jacket, one pair trousers, one pair shoes and a shirt. During summer this was changed to one frock, a
shirt, a pair of trousers, a pair of shoes and a cap.13 Samuel Evans would have worn this type of
clothing, identifying him as a convict.
Macquarie's emancipist policy was firmly based on the premise that a person was to be rewarded or
punished according to merit. With the right encouragements convicts would return to society and
contribute to the development of the colony. He lightened punishments, increased convict rations,
male convicts were paid wages of £10 per year and £7 for females and convicts were properly
dressed. Grants of land, free rations for six months, farm implements, stock and seed grain were
available on easy credit.14 Not all colonists agreed with Macquarie and Commissioner Bigge was
appointed in 1818 to investigate Macquarie's administration.
10 AJCP, Admiralty, Reel No. 3189, Piece No. 101/7.
11 HRA, Series 1, Vol. X, pp. 191-192.
12 AONSW, Colonial Secretary's Correspondence, Reel No. 6006, pp. 162-164.
13 Driscoll, p. 404.
14 Dennis, J., "Bigge Versus Macquarie", in Journal and
Proceedings of the Royal Australian Historical Society, Vol.
25
There were five main reasons for the Bigge inquiry.15 The first was that transportation had lost its
terror and failed to deter men from crime. The second was the expense of the colonial government's
roadmaking and building policy. Thirdly there was sympathy from the British ruling class for the
Exclusives of New South Wales. Fourthly the policy of closed settlement might hinder the
production of wool needed for the British textile industries and finally, colonial manufactures were
lessening the demand for British goods.
In making his judgements Bigge appears to have placed the interests of England first by emphasising
the need to deter crime, cut down on colonial expense, increase revenue and discourage local
revenue.16 His next main concern was championing the interests of the Exclusives before anyone
else. Bigge recommended that exconvicts should not be given grants of land so that they would
remain a cheap source of labour. He wanted to discontinue the Government Stores policy of
protecting people from monopolies and stop exconvicts from entering the public service. Finally
Bigge suggested that of convict labour to work the properties.17
XXIII, Pt. VI, 1937, pp. 428-429.
15 Dennis, p. 437.
16 Dennis, p. 443.
17 Dennis, p. 443.
26
During the Bigge inquiry Governor Macquarie was criticised for retaining too many convicts on
Government Stores. His public works programme of constructing roads, bridges and government
buildings was an economic policy for coping with a situation where the labour supply exceeded the
demand as was the case with the convicts from the Baring.
T.G. Parsons, an historian, suggests that there are two main reasons for the limited demand for
skilled and unskilled labour during Macquarie's time.18 The first was the weather and the period
between 1810 and 1820 was one of droughts interspersed with floods and plagues of caterpillars
nearly every year. Following each flood or drought many settlers returned their assigned convicts as
they could no longer afford to keep them. The second factor was the expansion of transportation in
1817 which exacerbated the problem.
From January 1814 to 29 December 1820 11,767 male convicts arrived of whom only 4,587 were
employed by the government with 3,000 as labourers and the remaining 1,587 as mechanics or
tradesmen.19 In his despatch of 24 March 1819, three months before the arrival of the Baring,
Macquarie wrote the following grievance.
"Your Lordship will not fail to observe .... that no less that Sixteen Ships, Conveying
Upwards of 2600 Male and Female convicts, have arrived in this Country from England and
Ireland within the short space of less than Ten Months, thus greatly augmenting the Population and
Consequently the Expences of this Colony to the Mother Country".20
On 7 May 1821 Rev William Cowper, Assistant Chaplain listed Samuel Evans as one of a number of
convicts seeking permission to marry.21 When permission was granted, Samuel married Mary Ann
18 Parsons, T.G., "Governor Macquarie and The Assignment of
Skilled Convicts in New South Wales", Journal of the Royal
Australian Historical Society, Vol. 58, Pt. 2, June 1972,
pp. 86-87.
19 Driscoll, p. 399.
20 Hewison, p. 63.
21 AONSW, Colonial Secretary's Correspondence, Reel No. 6008, 4/3504, p. 22.
27
Crane, a free person, on 28 May 1821 in St. Phillips, Sydney. Her brother Christopher was a witness
to the marriage.22 Samuel and Mary Ann did not have children but they were involved closely with
her many nephews and nieces.
Mary Ann Evans died on 16 November 1825 in Sydney.23 Within the next year, Samuel Evans
applied on 9 June 1826 for permission to remarry.24 He married Emma Walker, the daughter of
Richard Walker, on 20 July 1826 with the Rev William Cowper performing the ceremony.25 Samuel
signed his name while Emma made her mark. Samuel and Emma had two children Charles Henry
born 19 Aug 1827 and Georgiana born 6 May 1829, both baptised by the Rev William Cowper.26 In
1828 the family were living in Princes Street, Sydney and Samuel was working as a shoemaker.27
Samuel Evans died in Sydney on 20 April 1830.28 He was buried in the Devonshire Street burial
ground with his first wife. A tombstone with the following inscription was erected to their
memory.29
22 AONSW, Reel No. 5002, Vol. 3, No. 2747 and Reel No. 5002, Vol. 8, No. 148.
23 AONSW, Reel No. 5002, Vol. 8, No. 1148 and Reel No. 5001, Vol. 2, No. 6652.
24 AONSW, Colonial Secretary's correspondence, Reel No. 6008, 4/3504, p. 22.
25 AONSW, Reel No. 5015, Vol. 44, No. 414 and Reel No. 5002, Vol. 3, No. 3821.
26 AONSW, Reel No. 5001, Vol. 1, Nos. 8158 and 9246.
27 1828 NSW Census, p. 141.
28 AONSW, Reel No. 5001, Vol. 2, No. 9027 and Reel No. 5003, Vol. 14, No. 110.
29 Johnson and Sainty, No. 472, p. 29.
28
Mary Ann
wife of Samuel Evans
died 16th November 1825
aged 31 years
also Samuel Evans
died 20th April 1830
aged 37 years.
The tombstone was relocated at Bunnerong in 1901 following the closure of the Devonshire Street
cemetery. In 1976 the tombstone was demolished when the Pioneer Memorial Park was established.
Samuel's widow, Emma Evans married secondly on 8 April 1844 to Robert Potter, a 43-year-old
sailor in St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Sydney.30 Robert and Emma had been living together for
some time as they already had three children, Elizabeth born 1839, Robert born 1843 and Robert
Charles born 1844.31 A fourth child George Alfred was born in 1846.32
On 2 May 1843 Emma's son Charles Henry Evans died at the age of 16 years and was buried on 4
May 1843.33 The burial register gave his residence as Kent Street which is where the Potters were
living a month later when their son Robert was baptised. Just two months later on 8 July 1843
Robert and Emma's infant son Robert died at the age of seven months. The family had moved to
Clarence Street.34 On 3 September 1844 when the new baby Robert Charles Potter was baptised the
family's address was again given as Kent Street.35 Sometime later the Potters moved to Sussex Street
30 AONSW, Reel No. 5027, Vol. 74, No. 3851 and Reel No. 5029, Vol. 76, No. 1912.
31 AONSW, Reel No. 5006, Vol. 25, No. 318, Reel No. 5007, Vol. 27, No. 164 and Reel No. 5008, Vol. 28, No. 920.
32 AONSW, Reel No. 5016, Vol. 45, No. 6036 and Reel No. 5017, Vol. 48, No. 1548.
33 AONSW, Reel No. 5007, Vol. 27, No. 345.
34 AONSW, Reel No. 5007, Vol. 27, No. 356.
35 AONSW, Reel No. 5008, Vol. 28, No. 920.
29
and Robert worked as a labourer having given up the sea after his son George Alfred was baptised in
December 1846.
On 24 August 1849 Robert Potter died leaving Emma a widow again, this time with three young
children. He was buried in Camperdown cemetery two days later.36 The cemetery is located with St.
Stephen's Church on land that was originally donated by Elizabeth Bligh, the widow of Governor
Bligh. Built in 1845, the first St. Stephen's was designed by Edmund Blacket who also designed its
successor, built in 1871. The Church of England Cemetery Trust in 1848 purchased an additional
thirteen acres from Sir Maurice O'Connell, Governor Bligh's son-in-law.37
On 13 January 1853 Emma's daughter Georgiana Evans married Henry Bullen in St. Andrew's
Church, Sydney by special license.38 Henry signed his name while Georgiana made her mark. The
announcement appearing in the Sydney Morning Herald managed to spell both their surnames
incorrectly.39 After their marriage Henry and Georgiana Bullen moved to the goldfields of Victoria
and their story continues in the following chapter.
Emma Potter died on 28 September 1855, aged 45 years and was buried in Camperdown cemetery.40
Robert and Emma Potter are in very distinguished company in their final resting place. St. Stephen's
designer Edmund Blacket and its builder William Curtis are both buried in Camperdown cemetery.
The memorial to the wreck of the Dunbar is located in the cemetery grounds. Mary Bligh's two
husbands Lieutenant John Putland and Sir Maurice O'Connell and well known explorers such as Sir
Thomas Mitchell and Major Lockyer are all buried there, O'Connell being the first to be interred in
that cemetery.41
36 AONSW, Reel No. 5010, Vol. 34, No. 435.
37 Historic Buildings of Sydney Sketchbook, p. 14.
38 AONSW, Reel No. 5013, Vol. 39, No. 112.
39 Sydney Morning Herald, 20 January 1853, p. 2, c. g.
40 AONSW, Reel No. 5015, Vol. 43, No. 674.
41 Abbott, G. H., "Reminiscences of Newtown and
Neighbourhood", Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Australian
Historical Society, Vol. XXIV, Pt. I, 1938, p. 15.
30
The tragic story of Eliza Emily Donnithorne is also to be found in the Camperdown cemetery. Eliza's
bridegroom failed to appear and she spent the rest of her life inside her home waiting for him with
the wedding breakfast still laid out in the dining room. Charles Dickens used Eliza's story as
inspiration for the character of Miss Haversham in his novel Great Expectations.42
Emma's two youngest children Robert Charles and George Alfred were only eleven and nine years
old when she died. It is not known what the two boys did immediately following their mother's death
although they may have joined their half-sister Georgiana Bullen in Victoria as Robert Charles
married there in 1876 and George claimed to have received his education in both Sydney and
Ballarat.43
42 Abbott, p. 15.
43 Morrison, W. Frederic, Aldine History of Queensland,
Aldine Publishing Company, Sydney, 1888, no pagination, section on Gympie personalities.
31
CHAPTER 4 - THE LURE OF GOLD - HENRY BULLEN
Samuel and Emma Evans only daughter Georgiana Evans married Henry Bullen. He was one of nine
children of Robert and Annabella Bullen and had been christened on 17 November 1814 in
Camborne parish, Cornwall, England.1 His father was an excise officer moving the family around
various parishes in Cornwall. Henry appears to have arrived in New South Wales in the 1850s, a
peak immigration period due to gold discoveries in both New South Wales and Victoria reported
widely in both local and English newspapers.
No doubt, the idea of striking it rich enticed Henry and Georgiana to Victoria, specifically to Ballarat.
This place was one of the world's richest goldfields and by the time the first licenses were issued on
21 September 1851, there were already 800-1000 men digging on the field.2 When the gold license
was first introduced into Victoria, miners were charged 30s a month, regardless of how successful
their mining ventures were. In November 1853 the license fee was reduced to £1 a month with an
option of £2 for three months, £4 for six months and £8 for twelve months.3
Gold had a magnetism that attracted people from all walks of life who flocked to the Victorian
goldfields in their thousands. Population on the goldfields was estimated at 30,000 adult men in June
1852 which increased to 100,000 in 1855.4 1853 was a sensational year at Bendigo according to the
merchant William Westgarth who described it as "one vast diggings".5 With reports such as this it is
little wonder that the population increased so dramatically. Henry and Georgiana Bullen went first to
the Bendigo diggings where their daughter Emma Jane was born on 3 August 1854.6
1 IGI, Cornwall, 1988 and Camborne parish register, Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Film No. 1471743.
2 Blainey, Geoffrey, The Rush That Never Ended, 3rd. ed.,
Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Vic), 1978, pp. 31-32.
3 Johnson, Fay, "Eureka Stockade" in Our Heritage In History
: Papers of The Sixth Australasian Congress on Genealogy and
Heraldry, Launceston (Tas), 1991, p. 178.
4 Blainey, p. 42.
5 Blainey, p. 43.
6 Victorian Birth Certificate, No. 547 of 1855 (registered ten months after her birth).
32
Sometime during the following ten months they moved to Ballarat where alluvial gold mining was
soon replaced by deep mining, once the surface deposits were exploited. Machinery was needed to
combat the hazard of water in the mining shafts which was too expensive and labour intensive for
one miner, so miners formed syndicates. Deep sinking was also the riskiest form of mining. H.W.
Silvester, a Ballarat digger in 1853 described deep sinking as "nothing more nor less than a species of
lottery".7
By 1854 the average shaft was 120 to 160 feet deep and took five to eight months to sink always
fearing that it might be barren.8 All this time the miners would have been paying license fees and
finding their keep with no return from the mine. Not surprisingly the license fee of £1 10s was
bitterly resented and as it had to be produced on demand miners were angered, particularly those
working the deep leads whose license prohibited them from working on a Sunday.9 Tensions and
hostility increased to the Victorian Government as miners did not have the right to vote, they had no
way of alleviating their grievances. Mining disputes continued to increase so by the end of 1854
there were over 10,000 men living in Ballarat's canvas camps.10
Returning to Melbourne after his visit to Ballarat in August 1854, Sir Charles Hotham, Governor of
Victoria, determined that miners would no longer evade the license fee. While touring the area he
had noted a discrepancy in the number of miners on the goldfields and the amount of money
collected through license fees. Police were instructed to carry out twice weekly licence inspections
which only angered the miners more resulting in the birth of the Ballarat Reform League.11
7 Blainey, p. 49.
8 Blainey, p. 49.
9 Strange, A.W., Ballarat: A Brief History, Lowden
Publishing Co., Kilmore (Vic), 1971, p. 11.
10 Blainey, pp. 51-52.
11 Strange, p. 11.
33
As protest meetings in Ballarat became larger and more bitter, the Government sent more police and
soldiers. Finally on 30 November 1854 another raid on licenses was started but this time the miners
defied the police, shots were fired and miners taken prisoner. Following this a meeting was held
from which Peter Lalor emerged as the miners' leader, organising them into companies. Throughout
1 December 1854 these groups patrolled the mines, collected arms and protected the miners. By 2
December 1854 over a thousand men had gathered in the stockade at Eureka to face more than 400
police and soldiers.12
During the night some left to return to their mines so by 3am there were only about 120-armed men
left inside. The following morning just before sunrise the soldiers and police attacked; the fight lasted
less than half an hour with about thirty miners and five soldiers killed.13 Tents were fired and the
stockade wrecked. Martial law was proclaimed but the spirit of rebellion was still unquenched. By
the winter of 1855 the Government had reformed its goldfield laws. The miners right was introduced
at £1 a year, later reduced to 5s and this allowed miners to dig gold, vote at elections and make their
own mining laws.14
Eureka has become a legend in Australia's history and it would be interesting to know Henry and
Georgiana Bullen's involvement but as so many men gave false names, ready identification is
impossible. Their daughter Emma Jane was born in Bendigo on 3 August 1854 but the birth was not
registered until 21 June 1855 by which time the family were living in Sebastopol near Ballarat.15 As
a miner Henry would undoubtedly have felt the tensions and frustrations, probably participating in
the protest meetings. Georgiana, on the other hand, as a wife and mother, would have worried about
the family's safety.
The second half of the 1850s in Ballarat saw the growth of capitalist mining leaving few
opportunities for the individual alluvial miner. Perhaps this is why Henry Bullen ceased mining and
12 Blainey, p. 55.
13 Blainey, p. 56.
14 Strange, p. 13.
15 Victorian Birth Certificate, No. 547 of 1855.
34
became a carter and storekeeper. An examination of his children’s' birth certificates reveals this
change of occupations. The next three children, William Henry, Elizabeth and George were all born
in Magpie where until about 1860 Henry worked as a miner. When he registered his son George's
birth in 1860 he gave his occupation as carter. The next child Eva was born in Cardigan near Ballarat
in 1862 and Annabella was born in Sebastopol in 1865.16
On 30 October 1865 Henry selected Allotment 5 Section 3 occupying 13 acres 1 rood 7 4/10 perches
in the parish of Yarrowee (later Cardigan) with an annual license fee of £4.17 Henry applied to
purchase the land on 4 February 1871 as he had complied with the conditions of the license. Mr.
Black, a Victorian Crown Lands Bailiff, inspected the property and described the improvements as a
fence, house, store and stable with twelve acres cleared and cultivated, valuing the property at £180.18
The application was refused by the Board of Land and Works because of mining objections.
Apparently the land was situated on the mining claims of the Prince Imperial and Albion Consols
Companies with claims being worked.19
By 1871 Ballarat had a population of 47,000 making it the largest gold mining city in the world at
that time.20 When Anthony Trollope visited the city in the early 1870s he described it as "a most
remarkable town .... so well built, so well ordered, endowed with present advantages so great in the
way of schools, hospitals, libraries, hotels, public gardens".21
From 1870 onwards Henry Bullen suffered from mental illness. On 7 November 1871 he was
admitted to the Ararat Asylum where he was diagnosed as suffering from dementia which had been
16 Victorian Birth Certificates - Nos. 2206/1856; 5140/1858; 9068/1860; 12746/1862 and 17163/1865.
17 PRO, VIC, VPRS 627, Land Selection Files, Section 31, 1869 Act, No. 21931 (3680 attached).
18 Land File, No. 21931 (3680 attached).
19 Land file, No. 21931 (3680 attached).
20 Tanner, Howard, Central Goldfields of Victoria, Regional
Heritage Series, Macmillan, Melbourne, 1978, p. 20.
21 Tanner, p. 20.
35
in existence for about one year.22 Before admission to a lunatic asylum, two doctors had to certify as
to the person being insane. Once admitted, trustees were appointed to handle the person's estate.
Patients were given special clothing to wear at all times with each item of clothing marked with the
particular brand of that asylum so that in the event of an escape, the police would be able to easily
identify the escapee.23
On admission the doctors reported Henry in "tolerably good bodily health" but his memory was very
bad and he appeared very stupid.24 By 1 February 1872 his bodily health had deteriorated with no
improvement in his mental health. On 13 March 1872 Henry was released to his wife for a trial
period even though he was considered in "feeble bodily health". Then on 21 August 1872 he was
discharged and released on a medical certificate sent to the Asylum by his friends. Just one week
later he was readmitted on 28 August 1872.25 This time he was said to be suffering a form of
insanity known as religious persuasion and dementia and considered destructive, subject to delusions.
By 12 November 1872 there were symptoms of general paralysis.
Henry died the following year on 15 September 1873.26 A post mortem was held the following
afternoon by Dr. Law and officially the cause of death was officially given as "disease of heart and
brain". The report gives further details of Henry's illness - membranes in the brain had thickened and
serum effused between them into the ventricles; arteries at base of brain partially ossified; his lungs
were healthy but with old pleuritic adhesions on both sides; his heart and liver were both enlarged
and fatty; and finally he had bed sores on each hip.27
22 PRO, VIC., VPRS 7403/P1, Ararat Asylum Case Book Unit 1, p. 167.
23 Harris, Helen Doxford, Digging For Gold: A Guide To
Researching Family and Local History In Victoria's Central
Goldfields, H.D. Harris, Nunawading (Vic), 1988, p. 21.
24 PRO, VIC., VPRS 7403/P1, Ararat Asylum Case Book Unit 1, p. 167.
25 PRO, VIC., VPRS 7403/P1, Ararat Asylum Case Book Unit 1, p. 200.
26 Victorian Death Certificate, No. 5967 of 1873.
27 PRO, VIC, Inquest File, No. 785 of 1873.
36
When patients died in an asylum, an inquest was mandatory. The inquest into Henry's death was held
following the post mortem, before coroner Philip Champion Crespigny. The records give a detailed
account of Henry's last months. Arthur Coham, a hospital warder, stated that Henry had been "under
my care for nearly six months past" and that in June he was ordered to bed and has been confined
thereto since". Similarly the Resident Medical Officer John Forke Fishbourne stated that "for the last
three months he had been confined entirely to his bed", explaining the bedsores on Henry's hips.28
Henry was buried in the old Ballarat cemetery on 20 September 1873.29
The family continued to live at Sebastopol, Ballarat. As Henry died intestate, his wife Georgiana
applied for Letters of Administration. A notice stating her intentions was published in the Argus on
31 March 1876 by her proctors, Holmes and Salter of Lydiard Street, Ballarat.30 Administration of
the estate was granted on 24 April 1876 to Anna Bullen.31 Each time her signature was required,
Anna made her mark. It is noted that she preferred to be known as Anna rather than Georgiana.
There was no real estate but the personal estate was listed as follows.32
28 PRO, VIC, Inquest File, No. 785 of 1873.
29 Victorian Death Certificate, No. 5967 of 1873.
30 Argus, 31 March 1876, p. 8, c. e.
31 PRO, VIC, Probate File, No. 14/565.
32 PRO, VIC, Probate File, No. 14/565.
37
A 5 room wooden cottage and £50
a 5 stalled stable on allotment
License No. 376 (13 acres 1 rood
7 4/10 perches),fenced with posts
and 3 rails.
Waggon £13
Debts due to estate
A/c Isaac Huland £24
A/c Antonio Ranzio £ 5 16s 11p
Total £92 16s 11p
Debt due by deceased
A/c Everingham Greenfield & Co £16
£76 16s 11p
On 5 July 1876 Georgiana Bullen notified the Secretary of Lands that she wanted to transfer License
No. 376. Her solicitor Henry Cuthbert noted that "she and her family being about to join some
relatives in New South Wales" and that "Mrs Bullen is most anxious to join her relatives with as little
delay as possible".33 The License was transferred to James Thompson on 28 July 1876. The
application for transfer form states that there was a five-roomed weatherboard house with an iron
roof and out buildings. Cereal and root crops were grown and the property was enclosed with a post
and rail fence. The land was situated in the Ballarat and Sebastopol Drainage Area and unable to be
alienated.
Following the transfer, Georgiana's movements are unclear. Her half-brother George Potter had
moved to Gympie in Queensland about 1874 and her other half-brother Robert was living at
Sandhurst in Victoria. The latter had married Mary Ann Dobson on 5 August 1876.34 Their first
child Elizabeth Jane was born at Sandhurst in 1877.35 Shortly after the birth of Elizabeth, Robert and
his family moved to Queensland, joining George at the Gympie goldfields.
33 PRO, VIC, VPRS 627, Land Selection File, No. 21931 (3680 attached).
34 Victorian Marriage Certificate, No. 3279 of 1876.
35 Victorian Birth Certificate, No. 11480 of 1877.
38
Georgiana was anxious to move to New South Wales about mid 1876. Her only relatives in New
South Wales would have been her mother Emma Walker's family. It is possible that she kept in
touch with them although she probably had closer ties to her two half-brothers. There is a family
rumour that some of the Walkers did move to the Gympie goldfields but it has not been possible to
confirm this. Even if Georgiana and her family did move to New South Wales, they did not stay
there for very long. In September 1877 her daughter Elizabeth married in Gympie so perhaps the
family only passed through New South Wales on their way north to Queensland.
Georgiana Bullen died in Gympie on 1 May 1898 from senile decay. She was buried the following
day in the Two Mile cemetery at Gympie.36 At the time of her death all six of her children were still
living and she had 19 grandchildren although five of these had died in infancy or under five years of
age.
36 Queensland Death Certificate, No. 3503 of 1898.
39
CHAPTER 5 - BULLENS IN QUEENSLAND
All six of Henry and Georgiana Bullen's children married in Queensland.
Georgiana and Henry's eldest daughter Emma Jane had a tragic first marriage. On 19 May 1878 she
married John Hickey while he lay dying in the mineshaft of Clann No. 6 South Monkland.1 John had
accidentally fallen down the shaft and shattered his legs and broken his back. He was conscious for
about thirteen hours after the accident and it was during this time that he married Emma Jane.2 She
was over seven months pregnant at the time and John's obituary in the Gympie Times reported that,
"His last worldly act was that of an upright and honourable man".3 When the baby was born on 4
July 1878, Emma called her son John. He died just over three months later on 29 October 1878.4
Emma's grief at the tragic loss of both her husband and son in so short a time can only be imagined.
Two years later on 16 October 1880 Emma married John Barrow Atkinson in Gympie and their
history continues in the following chapter.
William Henry Bullen, the eldest son of Henry and Georgiana, married Annie White in Gympie on
11 December 1878.5 Annie White was born in Geelong, Victoria in 1855 and her family moved to
the Gympie goldfield as did many other Victorian mining families. William and Annie had two
children, Henry George who died on 4 January 1881 aged 13 months and Florence Anna Mary, born
in Gympie on 4 December 1881.6
1 Queensland Marriage Certificate, No. 323 of 1878.
2 Gympie Times, 22 May 1878, p. 3, c. d.
3 Gympie Times, 22 May 1878, p. 3, c. d.
4 Old Gympie Cemetery Burial Register, No. 744.
5 Queensland Marriage Certificate, No. 347 of 1878.
6 Queensland Birth Certificate, Nos. 2549 of 1880 and 2631 of 1882 and Queensland Death Certificate, No. 901 of 1881.
40
Like his younger brother George Bullen, William Henry left Gympie and moved to the Gladstone
Mining Warden's District. Monal goldfield, about 42½ miles south of Gladstone, was gazetted on 2
October 1891.7 There were three batteries on the field and William Bullen, in partnership with F.
Clancy was an owner operator of one of these batteries.8 In 1891 Florence, William Henry's nine
year old daughter, was listed as a possible student at the Monal Creek Provisional School. Prior to
the opening of that school, she attended Cania Provisional School, a quarter of a mile from her Riley
Street home.9
Monal township was situated in very rugged country which permitted only one street with businesses
and houses scattered along either side. The mining warden reported that the people lived
comfortably in slab huts with small gardens.10 The Calliope Divisional Board cleared a track over
the range into the area by way of Milton and Cania, allowing a weekly coach service to run between
Gladstone and Monal.11 By 1893 Monal had a population of 350, 199 of whom were women and
children but by 1900, the population had declined to 156 with 122 women and children.12 Monal had
become their home and their mining husbands sought work elsewhere.
The Monal Creek Receiving Office opened in 1891 with William Bullen, battery owner, its first
Receiving Officer. In 1893 it was elevated to a Post Office and William was Post Master until
1896.13 In addition William continued his prospecting activities. On 15 June 1893 he applied for a
7 Dunstan, B., Queensland Mineral Index and Guide,
Queensland Government, Brisbane, 1913, p. 752.
8 No author, Collections and Recollections : A History of
The Gold Mining Townships of Cania and Monal, Monto State High
School, Monto (Qld.), 1988, p. 45.
9 Collections and Recollections, p. 57.
10 Johnston, W. Ross, A New Province? The Closer
Settlement of Monto, Boolarong, Brisbane, 1982, p. 52.
11 Johnston, p. 52.
12 Johnston, p. 52.
13 Frew, Joan, Queensland Post Offices 1842-1980 and
Receiving Offices 1869-1927, Joan Frew, Brisbane, 1981,
p. 350.
41
miner's right for the area adjoining J.G. Murray's butcher shop in Monal.14 The claim was later
abandoned. William, on 9 January 1895, in partnership with R.P. and T.G. Clancy took up a
machine area and water rights to one acre on Crow's Creek.15 His miner's right was dated 17 August
1894. He transferred his one-eighth share in the claim to R.P. Clancy on 19 May 1896 prior to
leaving Monal.
On 11 September 1877 Elizabeth, the third child of Henry and Georgiana Bullen, married David
Anderson Louden in Gympie. They had nine children, three of whom died in infancy or as young
children. The Louden children all attended the Monkland State School in Gympie.16 Their father
David Louden served on the Monkland State School Committee from 13 February 1897 but had
resigned by May 1902.17
George Bullen, Henry and Georgiana's fourth child, in search of the elusive gold, had moved from
Gympie to the Milton (Norton) goldfield. He applied for a miner's right on 1 November 1892 but the
claim was later abandoned.18 Norton goldfield extended from the Many Peaks Range to the Boyne
River in the west.19 Gold was first discovered there in 1871 but little work was done until 1879 when
a crushing machine was installed.20 The township of Norton was situated on Wattle Creek, a
tributary of the Boyne River, 47 miles southwest of Gladstone.
14 QSA, Mining Warden, Gladstone, Register of Business and Residence Areas, A/25547, No. 68.
15 QSA, Mining Warden, Gladstone, Register of Machine Areas and Water Rights, A/25549, No. 21.
16 QSA, Education Department, Monkland School Admission Register, A/48890, MF - Z 2084.
17 QSA, Education Department, Registers of the Membership of State School Committees, EDU/9, pp. 217 and 412 and EDU/10, p. 239.
18 QSA, Mining Warden, Gladstone, Register of Business and Residence Areas, A/25547, No. 47.
19 Dunstan, p. 721.
20 McDonald, Lorna, Gladstone : City That Waited, Boolarong,
Brisbane, 1988, p. 310.
42
Just twelve days after applying for his miner's right, on 12 November 1892 George Bullen married
Annie Goody in a Presbyterian ceremony at the bride's residence in Norton, Queensland.21 Annie
Goody, the eldest of George and Ann Goody's six children, was born on 19 December 1868 at
Saltwater Creek near Gladstone, Queensland.22 Her parents George and Ann had been married on 16
April 1868 in a private residence at Saltwater Creek.23 George became a farmer selecting, on 9 July
1877, Portion 350, Parish of Riverston, a 200 acre grazing farm. 24 After gold was discovered
nearby George became a miner still maintaining his grazing property.
In March 1880 George Goody left his pregnant wife and five young children to go to England to
pursue a lawsuit against his stepfather James Newbold for money left to George by an uncle. Before
his departure from Brisbane, George wrote his last will and testament and mailed it to his wife. He
then proceeded to Sydney where he boarded the Orient Company's steamship John Elder bound for
England. On 24 June 1881 George wrote to his wife telling her that Newbold had won and that the
appeal case had left him penniless.25 To raise the money to come home to his family, George worked
in a warehouse with his uncle Samuel Ibbotson being the only relative who assisted him. In his letter
George indicated that he was coming home.
Two years later, on 24 August 1883 Ann Goody wrote to George's uncle Charles Ibbotson of
Geelong, Victoria seeking news of her husband. Charles had received a letter from George sent from
Port Elizabeth in South Africa as George apparently had only enough money to reach the Cape. His
uncle had forwarded a passage warrant to him which was returned from the Dead Letter Office six
months later.
21 Queensland Marriage Certificate, No. 782 of 1892.
22 Queensland Birth Certificate, No. 928 of 1869.
23 Queensland Marriage Certificate, No. 74 of 1868.
24 QSA, Lands Department, Land Selection File, LAN/AG 276, No. 350, Gladstone.
25 QSA, Supreme Court, Ecclesiastical File, S6574, MF Z 166.
43
The following year a Lands Department Bailiff inspected on 17 September 1884 the Goody property.
He found that Mrs Goody and her children were at Norton with their cattle as there was no water on
the selection. Apart from the fencing, the only improvements on the selection was a small, two room
bark hut in poor condition in which Ann Goody and her six children lived when there was water on
the property. In dry times the family lived in Norton and visited the property every two months,
staying for a week and drawing water from a neighbour's well. Ann Goody obtained a Fulfilment of
Conditions certificate in 1888 and a Deed of Grant issued to her on 6 November 1888 after she
proved that her husband George must have been deceased.26
In March 1891, eleven years after her husband had left, Ann filed for administration of his will.
George left his wife his real and personal estate with a bequest to his friend Edward Welch of his half
share in the Quartz Crushing Machine known as the "Working Miner" on George's property on the
Milton goldfield near Gladstone.27 From George's surviving letters it is apparent that he entrusted his
friend Ned (Edward Welch) with the task of looking after his family during his absence.
Ann Goody was the licensee of the Miners Hotel in Norton and it was probably here that George
Bullen met his wife Annie Goody. The hotel license was granted in January 1889 and as there was
no previous hotel of that name in Norton, it is probable that Ann Goody built the Miners Hotel.28
The license for the hotel was transferred to Mark Mansfield prior to its renewal in July 1893.29
In 1891 Norton with a population of 170 was a small mining town with a post office, provisional
school, two hotels and a School of Arts.30 Just five years later in 1896 the population had fallen to
41.31 There was no issue from the marriage of George Bullen and Annie Goody.
26 QSA, Lands Department, Land Selection File, LAN/AG 276, No. 350, Gladstone.
27 QSA, Supreme Court, Ecclesiastical File, S 6574, MF Z 166.
28 Queensland Government Gazette, Vol. XLVI, No. 41,
18 February 1889, p. 600.
29 Queensland Government Gazette, Vol. LIX, No. 100,
4 August 1893, p. 825.
30 Blake's Central Queensland Almanac, 1891.
44
Henry and Georgiana Bullen's fifth child Eva married Abel Hyde, a carpenter, in Mackay on 20
December 1883. Abel, born in Stockport, Manchester, England in 1855, was the son of John Abel
Hyde and Emma Oldfield. He emigrated to Queensland on the Windsor Castle, a 1075 ton clipper
ship, which left Gravesend on 10 March 1876 but experienced a heavy gale in the English Channel
forcing the vessel back to Gravesend until 19 March 1876. Once clear of Hastings the Windsor
Castle experienced west southeasterly winds as it passed through the Canary Islands before crossing
the Equator on 12 April. After encountering some very light winds the vessel had a good run to the
South Cape of Tasmania. The ship anchored off Cape Moreton, Queensland on 18 June 1876 after a
passage of ninety days.32 During the voyage one child died and two babies were born.33
Abel and Eva Hyde had four children, one of whom died in infancy. Eva contracted Addison's
disease, a rare disease where the body becomes incapable of reacting to physical stresses because the
adrenal glands which control the metabolism of salts and sexual organs cease to work. Eva died in
Townsville on 2 November 1900, six weeks after being diagnosed.34 As the family lived in
Geraldton (now Innisfail) Eva probably moved to Townsville for medical treatment as she was buried
in Townsville cemetery.
Her husband Abel died in Geraldton four years later on 17 October 1904 of brain disease being
buried the following day in Geraldton cemetery.35 Abel died intestate and as the three surviving
children were all minors, their maternal uncle by marriage, John Wilfred Rawlins of Goondi, near
Innisfail became their guardian. The following year it was discovered that Abel had a life insurance
policy estimated at £278 18s 9d. John Rawlins applied to administer Abel Hyde's estate on behalf of
31 Golding, W.R., Pathway To Progress, 1860-1973, Smith and
Patterson, Fortitude Valley (Qld), 1973, p. 91.
32 The Brisbane Courier, 24 June 1876, p. 4, c. a-b.
33 QSA, Immigration Department, Passenger List, IMM/115, p. 1128, MF Z 1958.
34 Queensland Death Certificate, No. 4399 of 1900.
35 Queensland Death Certificate, No. 529 of 1904.
45
his nephew and nieces.36 In the delay that followed, his niece Emma Henrietta Hyde turned 21 years
of age but renounced guardianship of her younger brother and sister. John was granted the
administration of the estate in May 1907.
36 QSA, Supreme Court, Northern District, Ecclesiastical File, No. 26 of 1907, A/16836A, MF Z 1923.
46
Annabella Bullen, the youngest child of Henry and Georgiana, had a daughter Jessie Mabel Bullen on
8 June 1885 but the baby died later that year. In Townsville on 18 April 1887 Annabella married
John Wilfred Rawlins, a 21-year-old emigrant from Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. John left
Plymouth on board the Almora, a 2000-ton steam clipper, on 22 November 1882 and arrived in
Cooktown, Queensland on 13 January 1883.37 On reaching Queensland the Almora called at
Thursday Island, Cooktown, Townsville, Bowen, Mackay, Rockhampton, Maryborough and Brisbane
discharging cargo and passengers at each port.38 During the voyage one man died of blood poisoning
and two infants from teething. Three babies were born, including twins. John Rawlins was one of 29
immigrants who left the Almora at Mackay.39
John and Annabella had four children. After 37 years of marriage, John, an engineer, died suddenly
on 12 February 1923 at Goondi, near Innisfail. A post mortem examination conducted the same day
revealed that he died of syncope and acute indigestion.40 John was buried in Innisfail cemetery the
following day. He was survived by his wife and four children. In his will John left everything to
Annabella. An inventory of his personal estate was valued at £1336 18s 10p and included live stock,
sulky, harness, saddlery, furniture, cash, war bonds and debts owing to the estate.41
37 QSA, Immigration Department, Passenger List, IMM/117, p. 453, MF Z 1960.
38 The Brisbane Courier, 22 January 1883, p. 5, c. a.
39 QSA, Immigration Department, Passenger List, IMM/117, p. 453, MF Z 1960.
40 Queensland Death Certificate, No. 6131 of 1923.
41 QSA, Supreme Court, Northern District, Ecclesiastical
47
The Bullen surname is no longer carried by Henry and Georgiana's descendants as they only had two
sons, both of whom died without male heirs.
File, No. 68 of 1923, A/16998B, MF Z 1986.
48
CHAPTER 6 - PORTRAIT OF A MINING ENTREPRENEUR
- J.B. ATKINSON
Gympie is situated 106 miles north of Brisbane and alluvial gold was discovered there near the site of
the Town Hall by James Nash in September 1867. It was first reported on 17 October that year
having been gazetted on 10 October 1867. In November 1867 the first reef, named the Lady Mary,
was found in Sailor's Gully while Gympie was known as the Currie Diggings.1 The discovery of gold
attracted thousands of men to the area and within six months of the announcement, John Barrow
Atkinson had made his way there.
Born in 1845 at Calthouse on the banks of Windermere Lake in County Lancashire, England, John
was the son of William Atkinson and Mary Carradus and the eldest of their eight children.2 In an
interview with The Queenslander in 1897 John stated that he had left home at the age of ten to
travel and work as an agricultural labourer and as a carrier.3 Later he worked for the Barrow Railway
Company and for a time at the Barrow Ironworks.
In September 1867 at the age of 22 years, he emigrated to the west coast of New Zealand where he
worked as a miner for a short time on the goldfield of Waimea in the district of Canterbury, New
Zealand. John paid £1 for his first miner's right on 20 January 1868 in New Zealand.
Gympie in Queensland, Australia was the new miner's El Dorado so John decided to try his luck
there. Before reaching Gympie he went to the Yarrell Station rush, sixty miles north of Gayndah. He
finally arrived in Gympie in April 1868 and found the town consisted of "bark huts, gin cases, calico
and mud".4 He had indifferent success until he turned his attention to the Two Mile when his luck
1 Dunstan, p. 539.
2 Atkinson family papers held by Mrs. Doss Campbell, Brisbane.
3 The Queenslander, Illustrated Supplement, 27 March 1897,
p. 8, c. a-b.
4 The Queenslander, Illustrated Supplement, 27 March 1897,
p.8, c. a-b.
49
began to change for the better. He had an active interest in batteries being opposed to monopolies on
the mining field. John established the Gympie Crushing Battery in 1870 when the only two batteries
on the Gympie field amalgamated and raised their price for crushing to £1.
In 1871 he went on a brief prospecting trip to New England, in northern New South Wales. On his
return he worked in the No. 5 South Monkland where he had previously been employed. In 1873 he
was made manager of the No. 5 South Monkland remaining there for two years before leaving to take
charge of Smithfield Extended. John then made a trip to the Hodgkinson and Calliope goldfields.
Returning to Gympie he was re-appointed manager of No. 5 South Monkland where he stayed until
1878. Success in his mining ventures gave John the capital to visit his old home in Lancashire.
Alice, the eldest daughter of J.B. Atkinson recounted to the family the story behind John's return trip
to Lancashire.5 Apparently before he left there in 1867 he became engaged to be married but John
went to New Zealand hoping to make his fortune. Once he had established himself, he planned to
return home for his fiancee. John Atkinson found success in Gympie, Queensland and returned
home. His fiancee, however, no longer wanted to marry him and emigrate because in John's absence
her sister had died leaving four young children. As she chose to stay in Lancashire to raise the
children, John returned to Gympie alone. Two years later on 10 October 1880 he married Emma
Jane Hickey, the young widowed daughter of Henry and Georgiana Bullen.6 John Barrow and Emma
Jane Atkinson had eight children, three of whom died in infancy or before the age of four. On 12
April 1886 Emma Jane gave birth to twin boys, both of whom died the same day. They are the only
known twins in the family.
Following his return from England, John bought a 1/40 share in the No. 1 North Phoenix for £80. At
the time people thought he was crazy as it was the highest price ever paid as earlier he had obtained a
similar share for £20. Eventually his share returned him a dividend of approximately £11,000. No. 1
North Phoenix was one of Gympie's most consistent dividend paying mines, payable right from the
beginning. The first dividend of 9d per share was paid in November 1880 and by the end of 1881 the
5 As told to Maren Conroy (nee Atkinson) by Alice Gibson (nee Atkinson) in April 1943.
6 Queensland Marriage Certificate, No. 411 of 1880.
50
dividend had increased to £3 4s per share but this fell in later years. By October 1894 the mine's
20,000 shareholders had received £20 2s 9d per share. This mine saw 248,877 tons of stone crushed
to produce just over 238,048 ounces of gold.7 It is little wonder that John Barrow Atkinson
considered he had made a shrewd investment. On 1 April 1881 John took up a mining lease
occupying 5 acres 3 roods 35 perches either side of Deep Creek for which the yearly rental was £6.8
John was a member of the directorate of No. 1 North Phoenix from its formation and between 1879-
1897 he was chairman. He was also chairman of directors of No. 2 Great Eastern, a 25-acre lease
which used high class machinery and its own battery and cyanide works near the Mary River which
were connected to the mine by a tramline.9 In addition he was Chairman of No. 1 North Great
7 No author, Souvenir of Gympie's Centenary, Gympie
Centenary Celebrations Committee, Gympie, 1967, no pagination, in section "The Celebrated Phoenix".
8 QSA, Mines Department, Gold Mining Leases, MIN/N3, No. 377, p. 138.
9 Lees, William, The Goldfields of Queensland : Gympie
Goldfields 1868-1898, Outridge Printing Company, Brisbane, 1899,
p. 33.
51
Eastern and a director of No. 1 South Phoenix, the Golden Crown and Phoenix Extended. John was
a big mining speculator and at one time he was receiving constant dividends from his many mining
interests of approximately £1,000 a month.
On 6 June 1888 His Excellency Sir Anthony Musgrave, Governor of Queensland and Lady Musgrave
visited the No. 1 North Phoenix Mine in Gympie. John Barrow Atkinson was one of the local
identities to meet the Governor and appeared in the photograph taken outside the mine.10
On 9 October 1889 the South New Zealand Gold Mining Company Limited transferred its lease of 13
acres 3 roods 11¼ perches over Crown Dam, Nelson Road and Crown Road to J.B. Atkinson as
trustee. The annual rent was £14 and the lease had originally been taken up on 1 May 1887.11 Nearly
two years later on 26 May 1898 John took up another gold mining lease which occupied 24 acres 3
roods 37¼ perches, with a yearly rental of £25. On 12 November 1902 he merged it with Lease No.
915 and two weeks later transferred the enlarged lease to No. 2 Great Eastern Gold Mining Company
Limited.12
J.B. Atkinson was appointed liquidator of the Great Eastern mine when it was sold to an English
company. In that position he gained the distinction of signing a cheque for £84,000, the biggest
cheque ever drawn on Gympie at that time.13 The Great Eastern Gold Mining Company Limited had
taken up its lease on 1 August 1884 for a yearly rental of £6. It occupied 5 acres 1 rood 3 perches
and was transferred to Atkinson and William Davies as trustees for Gympie Great Eastern Gold
Mining Company on 9 September 1887. Just three months later the lease was transferred to the
Company in its own right.14
10 JOL Photograph - Gympie - Mines - North Phoenix No. 1, 1888, Neg. No. 171033.
11 QSA, Mines Department, Gold Mining Leases, MIN/N10, No. 655, p. 52.
12 QSA, Mines Department, Gold Mining Leases, MIN/N26, No. 1105, p. 9.
13 The Queensland Illustrated Supplement, 27 March 1897, p.
8, c. a-b.
14 QSA, Mines Department, Gold Mining Leases, MIN/N6,
52
John Barrow Atkinson was one of the founders of the One Mile Sawmill as well as a large
shareholder, together with his uncle George Alfred Potter. The mill was erected in Crescent Road,
Gympie. Aleck Ivimey in his travels through Queensland in 1889 visited the One Mile Sawmill. He
described it as "an old established and fairly prosperous concern" employing about thirty men.15
Gympie's largest building at that time, the Olympic Skating Rink and the Gas Company's premises in
Mary Street were both built by the One Mile Sawmill. Ivimey believed the sawmill's close proximity
to the railway and the mines led to its success over its rivals.
The One Mile Sawmill Company acquired several scrub properties for the purpose of obtaining
timber, being an area at Scrubby Creek and the other at Tuchekoi. On 5 July 1882 John Barrow
Atkinson applied to select Portion 1524, Parish of Tuchekoi before it was surveyed which comprised
an area of 1429 acres described as second class pastoral land as it was heavily forested with dense
vine scrub. In addition to the annual rental of £36, John had to pay the survey fee of £18 8s for the
lease, issued on 8 October 1883.16
A Bailiff's Report of 25 July 1890 states that the land was not used for any purpose and that the
selection was unoccupied. Improvements on the property included a pine weatherboard hut, 12 feet
by 10 feet, covered with iron and floored, valued at £20 and 357 chains of 2 rail fence valued at £357.
As the selection criteria were allegedly not met, the Gympie Land Commissioner held an enquiry .
At the July 1890 hearing John Atkinson produced witnesses who testified that residence on the
selection had been maintained from June 1884 right through to the enquiry date. The Ranger
testified that during the past five years he had visited the selection a number of times, to find no one
in residence except once for a few months in 1887 when he found it occupied by C. Galloway.
No. 588, p. 25.
15 Ivimey, Aleck, All About Queensland, Garvie & Alston,
Maryborough, 1889, p.136.
16 QSA, Lands Department, Land Selection File, LAN/AG 323, No. 1524, Gympie.
53
The enquiry noted that J.B. Atkinson was one of the owners and directors of the One Mile Sawmill.
The land was heavily timbered and had been taken up on behalf of the Sawmill as the selection was
of little value except for the timber. No further action was taken, as the selection had been improved
as required by the Act and had a house on it. On 22 December 1890 an application to purchase the
selection was made with a Deed of Grant being issued on 19 February 1891. During its existence the
One Mile Sawmill was not a very remunerative company to its shareholders, although in later years
the rich scrub lands which it had acquired for the timber, were sold at a profitable figure.17
The following year on 5 September 1892 J.B. Atkinson applied for an unconditional selection before
survey. He chose Portion 49V in the Parish of Woondum comprising 410 acres 20 perches, the
property being surveyed on 24 February 1893.18 The selection was thickly timbered with ironbark
and gum in the northeast corner, with dense vine scrub growing elsewhere with poor, sandy soil. The
annual rental was £32 7s. A road was put through the selection which reduced the total area by 10
acres 35 perches. Although a license issued on 9 June 1893, the selection was forfeited two years
later for failing to pay rent in the current year.19
John Barrow Atkinson was the largest shareholder in the Gympie Tannery Company. In addition he
had a large interest in the Bundaberg Foundry Company and occupied a seat on the directorate, which
his son Albert later assumed. As well, John was a committee member of the Gympie Stock
Exchange established in 1884.20
John Barrow Atkinson retired to Tewantin about 1903. His house on the north bank of the Noosa
River was called Cloverdell.21 He had a steel-hulled motor launch, the Woolumba, which had been
17 Gympie Times, 1 May 1926, p. 5, c. h.
18 QSA, Lands Department, Land Selection File, LAN/DF2264, No. 586, Gympie.
19 Queensland Government Gazette, Vol. LXIV, No. 46,
17 August 1895, p. 466.
20 Gympie Times, 13 Dec 1991, p. 6.
21 Cato, Nancy, The Noosa Story, Jacaranda Press, Brisbane,
54
imported from America. Woolumba means "place of big water" and may have been the original
Kabi-Kabi name for Tewantin.22 J. B. Atkinson gave a brass breast plate marked "King of
Woolumba" to Aborigine "Sergeant" Brown.23 Research has failed to show the connection between
John and "Sergeant" Brown but it is possible that Brown lived on Atkinson's Tewantin property.
On 13 March 1903 a farewell party was held for Albert William Atkinson, John and Emma's eldest
son. It was held at the Gympie Hotel in Bundaberg and marked his departure for Ottawa, Canada.
Twenty-year-old Albert received a writing case and a cigarette case. His co-workers at the
Bundaberg Foundry gave him a handsome dressing case.24
On 15 March 1915 John and Emma's son, Kanyan dairy farmer Walter John, died suddenly in
Brisbane.25 He was only 31 years old and left a widow and two children under the age of two years.
Walter was buried in Gympie cemetery on 17 March 1915. Emma Jane Atkinson died in Gympie on
28 October 1921 and was buried in Gympie cemetery on 1 November 1921 with her son Walter.26
John Barrow Atkinson returned to Gympie where he died at his residence in Ray Street, aged 82
years on 30 April 1926.27 Members of the Gympie Hospital Board and the Loyal True Friendship
Lodge were requested to attend John's funeral.28 His obituary in the Gympie Times stressed his
mining interests as well as his efforts on behalf of the Gympie Hospital.29 At the next meeting of the
Gympie Hospital Board the President referred to John's death and said "He was a charitable man and
1979, p. 31.
22 Cato, p. 31.
23 Cato, pp. 31-32.
24 Gympie Times, 19 Mar 1903, p. 3, c. a.
25 Queensland Death Certificate, No. 29061 of 1919.
26 Monumental Inscription on tombstone, Gympie cemetery.
27 Queensland Death Certificate, No. 7869 of 1926.
28 Gympie Times, 1 May 1926, p. 5, c. a.
29 Gympie Times, 1 May 1926, p. 5, c. h.
55
had assisted the Hospital and other charities very generously".30 John was buried in the family plot in
Gympie cemetery on 1 May 1926 where a large monument has been erected to their memory.
John Barrow Atkinson left personal estate valued at £9607 9s 5d according to his last will and
testament which testifies to his philanthropic interests. He made a lifetime provision for his
housekeeper Jean Gordon Bushell and gave one-seventh shares in his estate to both the Gympie
Hospital and the Queensland Branch of the Salvation Army. The remaining five-sevenths shares
were divided equally between his children or their issue.31
John Barrow Atkinson's younger brother William also came to Queensland. He arrived around 1888
with his second wife Elizabeth Boardly and their three children together with the two children from
his first marriage. William and Elizabeth had another four children in Queensland. On 4 September
1888 William Atkinson acquired a miners homestead lease on Cootharaba Road with an area of 3
roods 20 perches for which the yearly rental was 5/-. On 19 June 1912 it was transmitted to his son
Thomas Edward Atkinson but the property passed out of the family on 19 November 1912 when
Nellie Granlund purchased the lease.32
Tragically William, a miner, was killed when a dynamite explosion took his life in the Scottish Gold
Mine No. 9 Level in Gympie on 4 April 1912.33 He was buried in Gympie cemetery the following
day. William was regarded as one of the oldest and most experienced miners of the field as he had
been a captain in No. 1 North Phoenix and manager of the Phoenix Eastern Tribute.34 An inquest
held on 16 April 1912 found that his death was the result of an accident and no other person was
responsible.35
30 Gympie Times, 6 May 1926, p. 7, c. f.
31 QSA, Supreme Court, Ecclesiastical File, SCT/P1531, No. 629 of 1926.
32 QSA, Mining Warden Gympie, Register of Applications For Homestead Leases, A/25385, No. 831.
33 Queensland Death Certificate, No. 5649 of 1912.
34 Gympie Times, 6 April 1912, p. 3, c. d.
35 QSA, Justice Department, Inquest File, JUS/N494,
56
Dying intestate, the inventory of William's personal estate was valued at £300 9s 7d including
furniture £29 1s; money in the bank £81 10s 5d; outstanding wages £2 17s 2d and shares in
Queensland companies £124 5s. He was also the lessee of Miners Homestead Lease No. 831 with an
area of 1 acre 9 perches and improvements valued at £57 16s.36
William Barrow Atkinson, the youngest son of William and Elizabeth Atkinson was the only
Atkinson to enlist during World War One. He joined as a Private in the 41st Battalion, 11th
Australian Machine Gun Company on 15 May 1917.37 His enlistment papers give many personal
details. At the time of enlistment he was 18 years old, working as a farmer at Reid's Creek, Gayndah.
As both his parents were deceased, he listed his younger sister Florence Atkinson of West End,
Brisbane as his next of kin. William was 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighed 144 pounds and had a fair
complexion with brown hair and eyes with scars on his right shin and left knee. William's chest
measurement was 33 inches expanding to 36 inches.
He embarked on the Hororata in Sydney on 14 June 1917, disembarking in Liverpool on 26 August
1917, from where he proceeded over the Channel to France. For the first few months of 1918 he was
in and out of French hospitals with various illnesses. On 31 August 1918 he was invalided back to
England and admitted to Edgbaston hospital, Birmingham with dysentery.
William sailed for Australia on 14 January 1919 on board the City of York. On 23 February 1919
his married sister Margaret Annie Christensen wrote to the Army for confirmation that he was
returning on the City of York.38 She stated that the last letter received was in January but that it had
No. 201 of 1912.
36 QSA, Supreme Court, Ecclesiastical File, SCT/P820, No. 217 of 1912.
37 Soldiers Career Management Authority, Personnel File, W.B. Atkinson.
38 Soldiers Career Management Authority, Personnel File, W.B. Atkinson.
57
been written the previous November. Margaret's letter expresses the worries and fears that loved
ones here felt for the troops overseas.
William disembarked in Melbourne on 27 February 1919, travelling from there to Brisbane where he
was formally discharged from the Army on 31 March 1919. For his service overseas he received the
British War Medal and the Victory Medal. William returned to Gayndah where he was a successful
farmer.
58
CHAPTER 7 - MORE MINING ENTREPRENEURS - THE POTTERS
Emma Walker's eldest living son Robert Charles Potter with his wife Mary Ann and daughter
Elizabeth Jane moved to Gympie from Sandhurst in Victoria about the beginning of 1878. Robert
and Mary Ann had a further six children in Gympie where they lived at Monkland, with Robert
working as a miner.
At a public auction of crown lands offered for sale in Gympie on 3 May 1887 Robert Potter in
partnership with Robert Gibson purchased Suburban Allotment 1 Section 7 in the Town of Noosa. It
had an area of 1 acre 2 roods 2 perches for which they paid £6 6s.1
Following Robert's early death on 1 September 1889 Mary Ann was forced to seek work as a
laundress to support their seven children all under twelve years of age.2 He died intestate, owning no
real estate at the time of his death with the whole of Robert's personal estate and effects valued at less
than £250.3 Life was not easy for Mary Ann Potter but she survived her husband by 52 years, dying
in Gympie on 10 July 1941 at the age of 89 years.4 A tombstone over their grave in Gympie
cemetery records their details.
Robert's younger brother George Alfred Potter moved to Gympie, Queensland before the rest of the
family in 1873. George was a miner for the first two or three years he was in Gympie, before taking
over the management of Robert Lawrie's ironmongery business. Three years later George purchased
the business.5
1 QSA, Lands Department, Sales of Crown Land at Auction, LAN/AB49, Gympie, 3 May 1887, Lot 18, MF Z 1548.
2 QSA, Education Department, Monkland State School Admission Register, A/48890, No. 1014 of 1895, MF Z 2084.
3 QSA, Supreme Court, Ecclesiastical File, S 5820, MF Z 155.
4 Monumental Inscription on tombstone, Gympie cemetery.
5 Morrison, section on Gympie personalities.
59
He married Sophie Touzeau in Gympie on 12 September 1874. Sophie's usual place of residence
was given as Sebastopol, Ballarat, Victoria on their marriage certificate, where George's older brother
Robert and half-sister Georgiana Bullen were living.6 The marriage notice that appeared in the
Gympie Times requested "Ballarat papers please copy".7 George and Sophie either met in Gympie
or in Victoria and then moved to Queensland together. As Sophie's parents stayed in Ballarat it
seems more likely that she met George in Victoria and followed him to Queensland.
Sophie, the daughter of John Thomas Touzeau and Judith Sebiere, was born about 1850 in Guernsey
in the Channel Islands.8 When Sophie Touzeau moved to Queensland so did her older sister Judith
and her husband Henry John Saunders. They had married in Ballarat, Victoria on 3 September
1872.9 Following the death of his wife Judith in Seville, Victoria on 10 August 1894, Sophie's father
John Thomas Touzeau moved to Gympie to be with his daughters. He died in Potter Street, Gympie
on 22 December 1907 and was buried in Gympie cemetery.10
Like his nephew John Barrow Atkinson, George Potter was a successful mining investor. From 1
September 1879 George in partnership with John Eyton Humphreys held Lease No. 332 in trust for
No. 9 South Lady Mary Gold Mining Company. This lease of 3 acres 2 roods and 10 perches, with a
yearly rental of £4, was on either side of Hilton Road, next door to the Britannia Claim.11
George was a director of the No. 4 North Phoenix mine which had a lease consisting of 25 acres,
employing 77 men in 1898.12 George also held the position of Director of the Eastern 2 and 3
Smithfield Tribute, a 15-acre claim which was one of the first opened at Deep Creek in early 1868.13
6 Queensland Marriage Certificate, No. 187 of 1874.
7 Gympie Times, 16 September 1874, p. 3, c. b.
8 Queensland Marriage Certificate, No. 187 of 1874.
9 Victorian Marriage Certificate, No. 3557 of 1872.
10 Queensland Death Certificate, No. 5049 of 1907.
11 QSA, Mines Department, Gold Mining Leases, MIN/N3, No. 332, p. 59.
12 Lees, pp. 20-21.
13 Lees, p. 25.
60
He was Chairman of Directors of the Crown and Phoenix Extended Mine which was an 18 acre lease
between the No. 5 North Phoenix and the Great New Zealand.14 In addition to his mining interests,
George was a shareholder in the Royal Bank of Queensland.15 On 9 August 1881 a public auction of
crown lands offered for sale was held in Gympie. George Alfred Potter bought two town blocks in
the town of Noosa.16 Allotment 1 Section 8 and Allotment 2, parish of Weyba both had an area of
one acre. George paid £8 for each allotment so shrewdly purchasing two acres in the middle of
Noosa for a total of £16.
George operated a plumbing and hardware business in Graham Street at the One Mile. In 1889
Aleck Ivimey during his stay in Gympie described Potter as "a well known merchant of One Mile,
Gympie, whose dynamite and fuse store at the top of the hill is one of the oldest in Gympie".17 Potter
was an agent for what became known as Potter's Patent Detaching Hook which received Exhibition
prizes in Paris 1878, London 1882 and 1884 and Glasgow 1885. The device was used in the No. 1
North Phoenix, North Lady Mary Leasehold and at Golden Spur Claim, Eidsvold.
George and Sophie Potter had seven children, two of whom died in infancy. Their eldest daughter
Clara Beatrice met an early death in 1906. Just three years earlier her marriage to Frederick Charles
Jefferson in 1903 was one of the society events of the year in Gympie.18 The list of wedding presents
received by the couple is a wonderful insight into life in the early 1900s. The donors list also
indicates the involvment of the Potter family in Gympie social life.
The young couple were given a dining room clock, a bedroom set, various silver kitchen and dining
accessories, a china tea set, vases, linoleum, cane rattan chairs and a set of Mrs. Pott's sad irons.
Presents from Gympie organisations included the Gympie Model Band, a breakfast and epergne; the
14 Lees, pp. 22-23.
15 Morrison, section on Gympie personalities.
16 QSA, Lands Department, Sales of Crown Land at Auction, LAN/AB37, Gympie, 9 Aug 1881, Lots 32 and 41, MF Z 1545.
17 Ivimey, p.33.
18 Gympie Times, 8 August 1903, p. 3, c. e and f.
61
Gympie Town Band, a morocco writing case; the Gympie Orchestral Society, a drawing room lamp;
and from the Presbyterian Sunday School Teachers, a silver tea service.19
On the morning of 27 November 1906 Clara was doing the family washing with her sister, Rose
Potter when the wind blew a flame from under the copper, Clara's apron caught fire. She was
wearing a dress of thin inflammable material which also caught fire. Clara received burns to the
whole of her body, except for the head and chest, before the flames were extinguished by her sister.
Rose also received burns to her hands and arms in her desperate battle to save her sister.20 Clara died
the following day much to her family's sorrow. Clara's involvement in Gympie's musical circles was
revealed by the funeral notices inserted in the Gympie Times by the Gympie Model Band and the
Gympie City Band and Philharmonic Society.21
George and Sophie Potter's son Robert William was an enthusiastic photographer. A sample of his
work can be found on an illuminated address to Benjamin Wright on his departure from Gympie in
1907. Robert took a photographic view of Gympie which appears in the bottom left corner of the
address. He was one of the signatories along with eight other One Mile residents who farewelled
Benjamin Wright and his wife in an unusual and lavish way.22
George Alfred Potter died aged 85 years at his residence in Vulture Street, South Brisbane on 14 July
1931. He was buried in South Brisbane cemetery with a tombstone marking the site.23 His success
as a miner, shareholder and storekeeper is reflected in his estate at the time of his death. The total
value was given as £11,637 9s 5d consisting of money in banks, bonds, mortgages, life policies and
shares, not a bad life's work for a boy orphaned at the age of nine years.24 His wife Sophie died aged
19 Gympie Times, 8 August 1903, p. 3, c. e and f.
20 QSA, Justice Department, Inquest File, JUS/N365, 525 of 1906.
21 Gympie Times, 29 November 1906, p. 2, c. e and f and
p. 3, c. a.
22 JOL, Photograph, Neg. No. 4269.
23 Queensland Death Certificate, No. 14649 of 1931.
24 QSA, Supreme Court, Ecclesiastical File, SCT/P1781,
62
88 years at their South Brisbane residence on 12 October 1938 being buried with him in the South
Brisbane cemetery.25
The spirit of being a benefactor to those less fortunate was one that George and Sophie Potter passed
on to their children. Their daughter Olive Sophie married Edward James Peel on 28 December 1909
in Gympie but the Peel's did not have children.26 Prior to her marriage Olive was a teacher of singing
and voice production having obtained a Senior Certificate Associate Board, Royal Academy of Music
and Royal College of Music.27 She usually worked three days a week at the Gympie School of Arts.
Edward Peel, aged 84 years, died in Brisbane on 2 February 1953. A retired company director, his
last will and testament reveals the family's philanthropic interests.28 After providing for his wife, he
set up a £100 trust fund for the upkeep of his own parents and sister's graves, his wife's parents and
sister Clara Jefferson's graves in Gympie cemetery and the Peel's own grave in South Brisbane
cemetery. Edward set aside £300 to enclose their plot in South Brisbane cemetery. He also gave
£500 to St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Longtown near Carlisle, County Cumberland, England.
The money was to be used for the relief of sickness in the village and was in memory of his parents
James and Ann Peel.
Edward's other bequests included £500 to the Queensland division of the Salvation Army for social
work in Queensland and his two volumes on The Art of Organ Building by George Ashdown
Audsley were given to the University of Queensland Library. Finally, he gave the rest of his estate to
the Senate of the University of Queensland to establish the "Edward James Peel Fellowship" in the
Faculty of Agriculture. Again it was in memory of his parents. The inventory of his estate indicated
No. 731 of 1931.
25 Queensland Death Certificate, No. 41361 of 1938.
26 Gympie Times, 1 January 1910, p. 3, c. f.
27 Gympie Times, 20 October 1904, p. 1, c. e.
28 QSA, Supreme Court, Ecclesiastical File, A/43832, No. 591 of 1953.
63
realty under £4501 and personalty under £10,029.29 Two codicils to the will in 1951 and 1952 were
witnessed by J.D.C. Story, a solicitor and son of J.D. Story, later Vice Chancellor of the University of
Queensland.
Olive Sophie Peel died at their home in Vulture Street, South Brisbane on 30 May 1971. She was 92
years old and was buried with her husband in South Brisbane cemetery on 2 June 1971.30
29 QSA, Supreme Court, Ecclesiastical File, A/43832, No. 591 of 1953.
30 Queensland Death Certificate, No. 23777 of 1971.
64
CHAPTER 8 - SOCIAL AND MUNICIPAL LIFE IN GYMPIE
Apart from their mining and business activities, both John Barrow Atkinson and George Alfred
Potter were very interested and active in Gympie's social and municipal welfare.
On 22 July 1875 George Alfred Potter was one of the signatories of a petition from merchants,
bankers, miners, storekeepers, farmers and other residents of Gympie.1 The lack of communication
between Gympie and Brisbane was seen to be hampering the development of the town. It was noted
that the port of Newsa (now Noosa) was essential to the "speedy, direct and economical conveyance
of goods, passengers and mails".2 The petitioners requested that the present road be put into a
thorough state of repair or a cheap tramway constructed to make access to the town easier and
quicker.
George Potter was involved in a second petition when on 8 January 1876 the Gympie Progress
Association mounted a petition to protest against the survey and sale of land situated in Lady Mary
Terrace, One Mile and Mount Pleasant which land the Association believed was auriferous.3 Both
John Barrow Atkinson and George Alfred Potter signed the petition along with 97 miners and other
residents of Gympie. A counter petition was signed by 223 residents. After investigation it was
decided not to sell the land in question due to its proximity to mining properties.4
On 6 August 1887 the Widgee Divisional Board received a petition signed by John Barrow Atkinson
among others, protesting against the proposed severance of No. 2 Subdivision which included the
town of Kilkivan.5 In 1892 John was again a signatory on a petition against the proposed alterations
1 QSA, Works Department, General Correspondence, WOR/A105;4224/75.
2 QSA, Works Department, General Correspondence, WOR/A105;4182/75 top numbered to 4224/75.
3 QSA, Lands Department, General Correspondence, LAN/A49;964/76.
4 QSA, Lands Department, General Correspondence, LAN/A49;964/76 letter dated 4 Feb 1876.
5 QSA, Works Department, Widgee Divisional Board,
65
to the boundaries of Widgee Divisional Board giving his address as Tuchekoi where he held land.6
In 1894 George A. Potter of Monkland and his nephew David Anderson Louden of Geordie Town
were signatories on a petition protesting the annexation of the Rifle Range Hill, Pound Yard,
Brisbane Road and Geordie Town from the Glastonbury Divisional Board to the Gympie
Municipality.7
On 20 April 1886 John Barrow Atkinson was sworn in as a Justice of the Peace.8 He was
recommended by William Smyth, MLA who described Alderman Atkinson as "a successful retired
miner, steady and shrewd, his appointment would be favourably received by the council" and by
George L. Lukin, Police Magistrate, Gympie who referred to him as "a miner of independent means
.... intelligent and of good repute".9
In a report dated 7 July 1893, John Atkinson was listed as a commissioner for Gympie, appointed
under the Diseased Animals Act.10 He served on the Gympie Municipal Council for seven years
having been elected three times. John was on the Glastonbury Divisional Board for many years
while his uncle George Potter served on the Widgee Divisional Board.11
On 15 January 1890 George Potter and two other Aldermen, Ferguson and Glasgow retired as
Aldermen of the Municipality of Gympie in accordance with the Act. The Gympie Times and
Mary River Mining Gazette reported that there was no interest in the election and no nominations
1880-1891, WOR/N23, petition dated 6 August 1887.
6 QSA, Colonial Secretary's Office, Widgee, COL/O87; 11369/1892.
7 QSA, Colonial Secretary's Office, Gympie, COL/O33;13296/1894.
8 QSA, Supreme Court, List of Justices of the Peace to whom oaths administered, SCT/R69, No. 79.
9 QSA, Premier's Department, Correspondence respecting appointments of Justices of the Peace, PRE/R4, 1st Quarter, 1886.
10 QSA, Colonial Secretary's Office, Widgee, COL/O87; 7660/1893.
11 Gympie Times, 17 May 1892, p. 3, c. f.
66
had been made. The newspaper concluded that "ratepayers are satisfied with the conduct of the
corporation in the past and have no objection to allowing them to drift on in the same groove for
another term".12
John Barrow Atkinson was appointed Returning Officer for Wide Bay on 22 February 1899
following the death of Matthew Mellor which position he held until 13 January 1903 when succeeded
by James Fullerton of Eel Creek, Gympie.13 The Wide Bay electorate covered places from
Maryborough to Gympie out to Kilkivan and Kenilworth and down to Montville and Tewantin. The
duties of returning officers included the compilation of annual and bi-monthly rolls, the numbering of
names in arithmetical progression, delivering copies of rolls to all persons on payment of a fee and
the erasure of certain names from the rolls. An allowance at the rate of 10s per 100 names was paid
for clerical assistance in compiling the rolls.14
Both John Barrow Atkinson and George Alfred Potter were prominent members of the Freemasons
and John was also active in the Oddfellows. The oldest masonic lodge in Gympie is Pioneer Lodge
No. 1249EC which was founded on 24 March 1869 by Henry Edward King. George Potter was a
member of this Lodge and served as Master in 1884 and in 1886.15 John Atkinson was a foundation
member of Prince Leopold Lodge No. 2067EC founded on 13 August 1884. He was also one of the
first office bearers taking the position of Junior Warden.16
12 Gympie Times, 14 January 1890, p. 2, c. g.
13 Gympie Truth and Mining Record, 25 February 1899,
p. 2 , c. f, QSA, Colonial Secretary's Office, Reference Book For Names of Electoral Districts and of Returning Officers, 1887-
1902, COL/446, p. 90 and Gympie Times, 17 January 1903, p. 3, c.
d.
14 QSA, Colonial Secretary's Office, Reference Book For Names of Electoral Districts and of Returning Officers, 1887-1902, COL/446, p. 115.
15 Fowles, E.W.H. and White, E.G., The Jubilee Review of
English Freemasonry in Queensland, 1859-1909, Fowles and White,
Brisbane, pp. 76-80.
16 Fowles, pp. 116-117.
67
Prior to 1899 the Freemasons met in the hall in Duke Street, Gympie which was later the property of
the Widgee Divisional Board. In 1899 the three Gympie lodges obtained a freehold property
bounded by three streets - Channon, Henry and O'Connell Streets. Three trustees were appointed and
George Potter was the representative for the Pioneer Lodge.17 Various plans and specifications were
considered before the building of a one story temple was started on 2 January 1901. The foundation
stone was laid on 14 February 1901 and the Temple completed in October of that same year. John
Barrow Atkinson was also a member of the Loyal True Friendship Lodge of the Manchester Unity
Independent Order of Oddfellows in Gympie. He also served as Chairman for a time.18 George
Potter was a member of the Protestant Alliance Society.19
The Gympie Hospital was always of especial interest to John Barrow Atkinson. It was founded as
the Nashville Miners Hospital and the first meeting of subscribers was held on 31 January 1868.20 In
conjunction with J. Farrelly, John Barrow Atkinson collected £1500 to start the new building. He
was made a life member following his generous donation of £200.21 John served on the Hospital
Committee for 15-16 years and from 1893 to 1906 he was President of the Committee. Finally at the
annual meeting of the Gympie Hospital on 10 April 1906, John announced his intention of stepping
down from the Hospital Committee and from his position as President of the Committee. The
Chairman, the Hon. F.I. Power, MLC, said that the Committee would have trouble finding a "more
enthusiastic or better worker".22 Power continued that after so many years service perhaps John was
justified "in thinking that younger men should come forward and shoulder the responsibility".23
Regret was also expressed by D.E. Reid, J. McSweeney and V.H. Tozer. Until February 1926 the
Gympie Hospital was maintained by voluntary contributions subsidised by the Government, plus a
17 Fowles, p. 78.
18 Historical Sketch of Gympie, p. 94.
19 Morrison, section on Gympie personalities.
20 Historical Sketch of Gympie, p. 145.
21 Historical Sketch of Gympie, 1867-1927, pp. 145-146.
22 Gympie Times, 10 Apr 1906, p. 3, c. e-f.
23 Gympie Times, 10 Apr 1906, p. 3, c. e-f.
68
grant from the Golden Casket Art Union Fund. After that date the Hospital was run by the
Queensland State Government.
John Barrow Atkinson was one of the first members of the Drainage Board in Gympie. The Board
was set up as a direct result of the introduction of the Gold Mines Drainage Act of 1891.24 The
intention was to make proper provision for the drainage of the deep ground and to prevent surface
water flooding the mines.25 A system of flood gates was developed which were modified after the
disastrous 1893 floods. After that the system then worked satisfactorily; by 1900 thirty-one mines
were included in the drainage area. A further change was introduced in 1912 to allow for two Boards
- the Northern and Southern Drainage Boards which were separated by Deep Creek. Both Boards
operated successfully until mining effectively ceased in 1925.
John was elected every year to the Drainage Board until 1903 while his uncle, George Alfred Potter
was also a member of the Board.26 Election to the Gympie Drainage Board was not an eagerly
sought position. In January 1902 the only nominations received were those of the retiring Board
members including J.B. Atkinson and G.A. Potter with the result that they were all declared re-
elected for the next twelve months.27 In 1903 the situation was a little different in that there were
seven candidates for the five seats on the Board. These consisted of the five retiring Board members
plus two new aspirants, D.E. Reid and W.H. Walker.28 John Atkinson stood down but was
reappointed to the Board on 25 March 1903 to fill the vacancy created by the death of W.H.
Walker.29
24 Gympie and District Historical Society Bulletin, No. 16,
April 1982, p. 14.
25 Dunstan, p. 540.
26 The Queenslander Illustrated Supplement, 27 March 1897, p.
8, c. a-b and Lees, p. 41.
27 Gympie Times, 21 January 1902, p. 3, c. c.
28 Gympie Times, 20 January 1903, p. 3, c. b.
29 Gympie Times, 26 March 1903, p. 3, c. d.
69
In September 1880 a public meeting was held to request that a school be built at Monkland. It was
stated that the number of children to attend the school was probably about 90. The need to establish
the school was supported by Robert Charles Potter who felt strongly enough to be appointed to the
Committee for its promotion.30 On 2 August 1881, George A. Potter of the One Mile, was one of the
signatories on a petition requesting that a new school be established at Monkland.31 The petitioners
stated that the One Mile School was overcrowded and too far away for the children living at
Monkland. Jane Potter, the five-year-old daughter of Robert Potter, was one of the children on a list
that would transfer from the One Mile to a new school at Monkland, if established.32
It was to be four years of campaigning before the Monkland State School finally opened on 24
September 1884 with Robert Charles Potter as Secretary of the Committee from 14 February 1885.33
He held the position until his death upon which he was officially replaced by Hugh Hughes from 30
November 1889.34 Two of Robert's children Jane and Willie were enrolled in the first year. His
other children Letitia, Esther, Priscilla, Arthur and Mabel attended Monkland State School over the
following years.35
On 8 August 1882 the Gympie One Mile (Boys) State School Committee of which John Atkinson
was a member, submitted a proposal for the new Boys School.36 The actual site for the School was
30 No author, A Century of Golden Success - Monkland State
School, Gympie, 1984, pp. 8-9.
31 QSA, Education Department, School Correspondence File, EDU/Z1803.
32 QSA, Education Department, School Correspondence File, EDU/Z1803.
33 A Century of Golden Success - Monkland State School, p. 74
and QSA, Education Department, Register of the Membership of State School Committees, EDU/8, p.52.
34 QSA, Education Department, Register of the Membership of State School Committees, EDU/8, p. 52.
35 QSA, Education Department, Monkland State School Admission Register, A/48890 (1884-1895), MF Z 2084.
36 Queensland Government Gazette, Vol. XXX, No. 77, 10 June
70
limited as the northern portion of the reserve was not available, except as a playground, as it was
below the floodmark so the Committee recommended that the Queensland Government resume
private residences. John drew up the proposed plan.37 From 18 March 1893 he served as the
Committee's Chairman with his uncle George Potter as Treasurer. This partnership continued until at
least 1899 but they had both resigned by May 1902.38
Potters Road, Ashford Hill was named after George Alfred Potter. His old home was on the site of
the Southern Electric Authority transforming station.39
1882, p. 1298.
37 QSA, Education Department, School Correspondence File, EDU/Z2131;3426/1882, letter from Tho. Morton dated 8 Aug 1882.
38 QSA, Education Department, Registers of The Membership of State School Committees, EDU/9, pp. 127 and EDU/10, p. 269.
39 Thomas, G., How Gympie's Streets Were Named, Gympie Times,
Gympie, 1964, p. 15.
71
CONCLUSION
When Richard Walker was transported to New South Wales in 1814, he would not have known the
contribution that his descendants were to make in the developing nation of Australia. His children
participated in colonial life, found employment, married well and had children of their own. Three of
his grandchildren left the family base in Sydney, following the golden thread. Ballarat was an
exciting place in the 1850s and the Bullen and Potter families prospered. Still attracted by gold, the
families moved to Gympie in Queensland where they thrived. When the desire for gold faded, the
Atkinsons became farmers while the Potters became shopkeepers. The families were to know good
times and bad times but through it all, they assisted in the development of this country. The story of
Richard Walker and his descendants is typical of many Australian families. By itself their history is
not overly significant but when put with all the other histories of Australian families, they make up
the total history of this nation. It is the knowledge of how our ancestors contributed to history and
our present lifestyle that makes family history attractive as a pastime. A fascination with the past and
a desire to know how and why the family is as it is today leads descendants to explore their ancestors
lives. We owe them a debt of gratitude for progressing from their iron chains to gold bars.
72
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79
INDEX
Addison's disease 56
Apothecaries 4, 11
Ararat Asylum 43
Arnold
Joseph 8, 9
Atkinson
Albert 66
Albert William 67
Alice 61
Elizabeth see Boardly 69
Emma Jane see Bullen 61
Florence 70
John Barrow 49, 59-69, 74, 80-84, 86, 88
Margaret Annie 71
Thomas Edward 69
Walter John 67, 68
William 59, 69, 70
William Barrow 70, 71
Austin
Alfred 25
Alfred George Wesley 26
Alfred Hill 23, 24, 26
Alfred Wesley 24
Maria see Walker 25
Rosina 25
William 24
Ballarat 37-40, 42, 43, 45, 47, 73, 74
Ballarat Reform League 40
Barker
William 24
Barrow Ironworks 59
Barrow Railway Company 59
Bendigo 39, 41
Bigge
Commissioner 31, 32
Black
Bailiff 42
Blacket
Edmund 36
Bligh
Elizabeth 36
Governor 36
Mary 36
80
Blue Mountains 2
Boardly
Elizabeth 69, 70
Bowman
James 11
Boyne River 52
Brisbane 59, 67
Governor 17-19
Brown
"Sergeant" 67
James alias White 6
Bullen
Annabella 38, 42, 57
Elizabeth 42, 47, 52
Emma Jane 39, 41, 49, 61, 67
Eva 42, 56
Florence Anna Mary 50
George 42, 50, 52, 53, 55
Georgiana 45, 47, 52
Georgiana see Evans 45
Henry 36, 38, 39, 41-45, 49, 50, 52, 56-58, 61
Henry George 50
Jessie Mabel 57
Robert 38
William Henry 42, 50, 51
Bundaberg
Companies - Bundaberg Foundry 66, 67
Hotels – Gympie 67
Bushell
Jean Gordon 68
Calliope Divisional Board 51
Calliope goldfield 60
Camborne, Cornwall 38
Cania 50, 51
Canterbury 59
Cardigan 42
Carradus
Mary 59
Castlereagh 6
Channel Islands 73
Christensen
Margaret Annie see Atkinson 71
Clancy
F. 50
R.P. 51, 52
81
T.G. 51
Coates
Captain 28
Coham
Arthur 45
Cowan
Eliz. 8
Cowper
Rev. William 16, 18-20, 33, 34
Crane
Christopher 33
John 30
Mary Ann 33, 34
Crespigny
Philip Champion 45
Currie Diggings 59
Curtis
William 36
Cuthbert
Henry 46
Davies
William 63
Dickens
Charles 37
Dobson
Mary Ann 47, 72
Dodman
Mrs. 9
Donnithorne
Eliza Emily 37
Drake
Mrs. 9
Draper
D.I. 25
Edward James Peel Fellowship 79
Eidsvold 75
Eureka Stockade 41
Evans
Charles 35
Charles Henry 34, 35
Emma see Walker 34
Georgiana 34, 36-39, 42, 46, 47, 49, 50, 52, 56-58, 61, 73
Mary Ann see Crane 33
Samuel 1, 14, 27-30, 33, 34, 38
Exclusives 31
82
Farrelly
J. 84
Ferguson
Alderman 82
Fishbourne
John Forke 45
Freemasons 83, 84
Frost
Susan 8
Fullerton
James 83
Galloway
C. 65
Gayndah 60, 70, 71
Geelong 50, 54
Geraldton 56, 57
Gibson
Robert 72
Gladstone 50-53, 55
Glasgow
Alderman 82
Glastonbury Divisional Board 81, 82
Golden Casket Art Union Fund 85
Goody
Ann 53-55
Annie 53, 55
George 53-55
Goondi 57, 58
Granlund
Nellie 69
Greenway
Francis 2
Guernsey 73
Gympie 47-50, 52, 59-61, 64, 67-69, 72-75, 77, 80, 82
Buildings - Olympic Skating Rink 64
Companies - Great Eastern Gold Mining 63, 64
Companies - Gympie Tannery 66
Companies - South New Zealand Gold Mining 63
Companies - Stock Exchange 66
Lodges - Loyal True Friendship 68, 84
Lodges - Pioneer 84
Lodges - Pioneer No. 1249 EC 83
Lodges - Prince Leopold No. 2067 EC 83
Mines - Clann No. 6 South Monkland 49
Mines - Crown and Phoenix Extended 74
Mines - Eastern 2 and 3 Smithfield Tribute 74
Mines - Golden Crown 62
83
Mines - Great Eastern 63
Mines - Lady Mary 59
Mines - No. 1 North Great Eastern 62
Mines - No. 1 North Phoenix 61, 62, 69
Mines - No. 1 South Phoenix 62
Mines - No. 2 Great Eastern 62
Mines - No. 4 North Phoenix 74
Mines - No. 5 South Monkland 60
Mines - Phoenix Eastern Tribute 69
Mines - Phoenix Extended 62
Mines - Scottish Gold 69
Mines - Smithfield Extended 60
Sawmills - One Mile 64, 65
Schools - Monkland 52, 86, 87
Schools - One Mile 87
Schools - One Mile (Boys) 88
Streets – Graham 75
Streets - Potter 74
Streets - Potters Road 88
Gympie City Band 77
Gympie Crushing Battery 60
Gympie Drainage Board 85, 86
Gympie Hospital 68, 84, 85
Gympie Model Band 76, 77
Gympie Municipal Council 82
Gympie Municipality 81
Gympie Orchestral Society 76
Gympie Philharmonic Society 77
Gympie Progress Association 80
Gympie School of Arts 78
Gympie Town Band 76
Hatmakers 15, 17, 18
Hawkesbury River 2, 6, 30
Hickey
Emma Jane see Bullen 49
John 49
Higgins
Mrs. 9
Hill
Richard 17, 18
Hobart 23, 27, 28
Hodgkinson goldfield 60
Holmes and Salter
Proctors 45
Hotham
Sir Charles 40
84
Howe
George 2
Hughes
Hugh 87
Huland
Isaac 46
Humphreys
John Eyton 74
Hunter
Governor 16
Hyde
Abel 56, 57
Emma Henrietta 57
Eva see Bullen 56
John Abel 56
Ibbotson
Charles 54
Samuel 54
Innisfail 56-58
Ivimey
Aleck 64, 75
Jackson
Frances 17
Jefferson
Clara Beatrice see Potter 78
Frederick Charles 75
Johnston
Andrew 6
Kanyan 67
Kilkivan 81
King
Governor 16
Henry Edward 83
Knapp
Mr. 5
Lalor
Peter 41
Lamb
Captain John 27, 28
Lancashire 59, 60
Lang
John Dunmore 23, 25
85
Law
Dr. 44
Lawrie
Robert 73
Lewis
Frederick 26
Lockyer
Major 37
London 4
Longtown, Co. Cumberland 78
Lord
Simeon 2, 13
Louden
David Anderson 52, 81
Lukin
George L. 82
Mackay 56, 58
Macquarie
Governor 2, 3, 6, 7, 9-11, 19, 29-33
Madrid 27
Magpie 42
Mansfield
Mark 55
Many Peaks Range 52
Martin
Mary 14, 20, 22
McMahon
Annie 22
Elizabeth see Walker 21
George Henry 13, 20
John 13, 16, 18-21
Mary 21
Mary Ann 21
Mary Morley 21
Richard 21
Thomas 21
McSweeney
J. 85
Mellor
Matthew 82
Milton 51, 52, 55
Mitchell
Sir Thomas 37
Monal 50-52
Monkland 72
Monmouth, Wales 27
86
Murray
J.G. 51
Musgrave
Sir Anthony 62
Nairn
Captain 5
Nash
James 59
Nashville Miners Hospital 84
Nepean River 30
New England, NSW 60
New Zealand 59-61
Newbold
James 53
Newcastle 2, 25, 26
Noble
Mrs. 9
Noosa 72, 75, 80
Noosa River 67
Norfolk Island 19
Norton 52-55
James 24
O'Connell
Sir Maurice 36, 37
Old Bailey 4
Oldfield
Emma 56
One Mile 75, 77, 87
Owen
Quintin 6
Parramatta 2, 6
Peel
Ann 78
Edward James 78
James 78
Olive Sophie see Potter 79
Phillip
Governor 16
Phillips
Frances 16-18
George 16
Sarah 17
Physicians 4
Pioneer Memorial Park 34
Piper
87
John 18-20
Pitt-Town 6
Port Jackson 9
Port Macquarie 15
Potter
Arthur 87
Clara Beatrice 75, 76, 78
Elizabeth 35
Elizabeth Jane 47, 72
Emma see Walker 35
Esther 87
George 77
George Alfred 35, 37, 47, 64, 73-75, 78, 80-84, 86-88
Jane 87
Letitia 87
Mabel 87
Mary Ann see Dobson 72
Olive Sophie 78
Priscilla 87
Robert 34-36
Robert Charles 35, 37, 47, 72, 73, 86, 87
Robert William 77
Rose 76
Sophie see Touzeau 75
Willie 87
Potter's Patent Detaching Hook 75
Power
F.I. 85
Protestant Alliance Society 84
Putland
Lieutenant John 36
Queade
Charles 28
Ranzio
Antonio 46
Rations 12, 23, 30
Rawlins
Annabella see Bullen 58
John Wilfred 57, 58
Redfern
William 2, 10, 11
Reeve
Annie see McMahon 22
Joseph 22
Joseph Henry 22
88
Samuel John 22
Susan Annie 22
Reiby
Mary 2
Reid
D.E. 85, 86
Surgeon David 27, 28
Richmond 6
Roberts
William 7
Royal Bank of Queensland 75
Saltwater Creek 53
Salvation Army 69, 78
Sandhurst 47, 72
Saunders
Henry John 74
Scott
Alex 5
Scrubby Creek 64
Scurvy 23, 28
Sebastopol 42, 45, 47, 73
Sebiere
Judith 73, 74
Seville, Vic 74
Sheffield, Yorkshire 57
Ships
Almora 57, 58
Baring 27-29, 32, 33
City of York 71
Dunbar 36
Earl Cornwallis 16
Experiment 17
Hororata 71
John Elder 53
Maria 24
Medway 23
Minerva 28
Northampton 8, 22
Prince Regent 15
Retribution 6
Somersetshire 5, 6
Sydney Cove 13
Windsor Castle 56
Woolumba 67
Shirwell
89
Mrs. 8
Shoemakers 27, 30, 34
Silvester
H.W. 39
Smyth
William 81
Stockport, Manchester 56
Story
J.D.C. 79
Surgeons 4
Sydney 2, 6, 37
Cemeteries - Bunnerong 21, 34
Cemeteries - Camperdown 22, 35-37
Cemeteries - Sandhills 21, 26, 34
Churches - St. Andrew's 34, 36
Churches - St. Phillip's 16, 18, 27, 33
Churches - St. Stephen's 36
Commissariat 11-13
Hospital 10, 11
Streets - Cambridge 19
Streets – Clarence 35
Streets - Clyde 21
Streets – Cumberland 17
Streets - Elizabeth 24
Streets - Forbes 18
Streets - Hunter 13
Streets - Kent 35
Streets - Norton 18
Streets - Pitt 13, 14, 18
Streets – Princes 21, 34
Streets - Sussex 35
Water Police 24, 25
Tewantin 67
Thompson
James 46
Touzeau
John Thomas 73, 74
Judith 73
Judith see Sebiere 73
Sophie 73, 77, 78
Townsville 56, 57
Tozer
V.H. 85
Trollope
Anthony 43
Tuchekoi 64, 81
90
Tuchekoi 8
Tween
Jn. O. 8
Two Mile 60
University of Queensland 79
Uther
Reuben 13
Van Diemen's Land 23
Waimea 59
Walker
Dorothy 8, 9, 13, 14, 22
Elizabeth 9, 13, 18, 20, 22, 27
Emma 10, 13, 14, 18, 27, 33-38, 47, 72
Frances Emma 17
Frances see Phillips 17
George 9, 15
Henry 9, 13, 15-18, 27
Maria 10, 13, 22, 25-27
Mary 13
Mary see Martin 13
Richard 1-8, 10-15, 18, 22, 27, 33, 89
W.H. 86
Welch
Edward 55
Wentworth
D'Arcy 10, 11
Westgarth
William 39
White
Annie 50
James alias Brown 6
Wide Bay 82, 83
Widgee Divisional Board 81, 82, 84
Wilberforce 6
Windsor 6, 7
Worcester 4
Wright
Benjamin 77
Yarrell Station 60