janilye on Family Tree Circles

The Voyage
When the first HEATHER's had settled at Chislehurst, the civil war had been raging in England, with Charles I and the Royalists battling against Cromwell and the Roundheads. By the time the fourth Robert Heather died in 1780, a hundred and forty years had passed. The Commonwealth had come and gone. The restoration which followed had seen the return of the Stuarts who in turn gave way to the House of Hanover. Wars had been fought in Europe and America and the American war of independence was currently in progress. Times had changed and people tended to travel more.

Thomas HEATHER reached adulthood and found employment as a labourer at Chilsehurst, the birthplace of three of his forefathers.

We do not know when or where Robert & Thomas's mother Elizabeth died, but if she was alive in 1787 she must have been appalled by the events which overtook the family. Younger son Thomas, then twenty three years of age and working at Chislehurst, was arrested in October 1787 & held in goal to answer a charge of having robbed a man of money and possessions. Five months later, on 17 March 1788, when the home circuit held it's next sitting at Maidstone, Thomas HEATHER appeared before the judge & jury. He defended himself as well as he was able without the assistance of any legal adviser, but was found guilty of the charges of having robbed one George COTTON of a silver watch and fifty shillings in a field near the Kings highway. He was sentenced to be hanged. On 18 April 1788 the Justices of the Assizes at Whitehall in London reviewed the sentences of the Home Circuit, and Thomas HEATHER was one of those who had their death sentences commuted to fourteen years transportation to a penal settlement beyond the seas.

Thomas spent the first two years of his sentence in goals in England. The first 14 months were probably spent in goal at Maidstone, where most Kent convicts were confined.

In May 1789, Thomas was moved from Maidstone gaol to one of the hulks on the Thames river near Gravesend. These hulks were derelict ships tied up in the river to house prisoners who toiled in the nearby dockyards. About mid November, he was transferred to the ship NEPTUNE , the transport ship aboard which he was to make the voyage to New South Wales.

The ship "Neptune" was a vessel of 792 tons which had been built on the Thames in 1779. It was a three-masted, square rigged wooden ship, and was twice as large as any previous convict transport. On 14 November 1789, it left it's anchorage at Longreach and moved down the Thames to Gravesend. Three days later, with it's consignment of convicts on board it sailed for The Downs, the roadstead about five miles North-East of Dover. The part of the ship set up as the Convict's prison was the Orlop deck, the lowest on the vessel, well below waterline, so they had no portholes, no view of the outside world, and very poor ventilation.

There were four rows of one-storey high cabins, each about four feet square, two rows being on each side of the ship from the mainmast forwards, and two shorter rows amidships. Into these cabins no fewer than 424 male and 78 female convicts were crowded.

The appalling conditions under which these convicts were forced to live can be better appreciated when it is remembered that, immediately they had come on board, all convicts had been placed in leg-irons and these were not removed throughout the entire voyage. Into each of these tiny cabins were crowded four to six persons, chained in pairs.

Chained below, Thomas HEATHER would not have been able to take in the scenery as the ship "Neptune" had moved out of the Thames and come to anchor at The Downs, there to spend four days while stores and equipment were taken of board. Then anchors were weighed and the vessel left for Plymouth, a slow voyage which took six days after the ship overshot that port and the error wasn't detected until she was off The Lizard, from where a retreat was made back up The Channel. At Plymouth a series of disputes arose, involving the military, the contractors and the captain of the ship "Neptune". Amongst the military was Captain John MACARTHUR who was on his way out to the Colony for duty there. Accompanying him was his wife, Elizabeth, who kept a diary of events during the voyage. A feature of the dispute was a formal duel between MACARTHUR and Captain GILBERT of the ship "Neptune". As a result of the duel Captain GILBERT was replaced by Captain TRAILL, of whom Mrs. MACARTHUR wrote prophetically that "His character was of a much blacker dye than was even in Mr GILBERT's nature to exhibit".

The ship "Neptune" stayed at Plymouth until 10 December and then sailed back along the coast to Portsmouth where it anchored in Stoke's Bay on the 13th. There she met up with two other vessels of the Second Fleet, the "Surprize" and the "Scarborough". The convicts endured the cold weather for twenty-four days before the West winds abated and allowed her to sail on 5 January 1790. She anchored at Spithead until the 8th, but then the winds proved "Faithless" and the vessel arrived back at Mother Bank on the 15th.

At last, on Sunday 17 January 1790, more than two months after leaving The Thames, the ship "Neptune" left Portsmouth and moved down the English Channel. In chains below, Thomas HEATHER would not have had the opportunity to gaze for one last time upon the land of his birth. The voyage was really under way and the convicts became well aware of this fact two days later when they crossed the Bay of Biscay. The sea was so rough that Mrs. MACARTHUR recorded in her diary, "It could not be persuaded that the ship could possibly long resist the violence of the sea which was mountain high".

After a month or so the MACARTHUR's succeeded in being transferred to the ship "Scarborough" after they had had a series of disputes with John's superior, Captain NEPEAN. Captain TRAILL might have been relieved to see them go. The voyage was nothing new to Donald TRAILL. He had been First Mate on the ship "Lady Penrhyn", one of the transports of the First Fleet. Apparently he had learned a few tricks from his earlier experiences.

Historical records indicate clearly that he deliberately starved the convicts on the ship "Neptune" so that he could draw extra rations for himself, and in addition, enrich himself by disposing of surplus rations on the foreign market at ports of call. One convict wrote later to his parents, "we were chained two and two together and confined in the hold during the whole course of our long voyage, without as much as one refreshing breeze to fan our languorous cheeks. In this melancholy situation we were scarcely allowed a sufficient quantity of victuals to keep us alive, and scarcely any water".

Sickness was prevalent right from the beginning of the voyage. Heavily ironed and without adequate access to fresh air and sunlight; inadequately fed and without sufficient bedding for warmth at night, the convicts soon began to succumb to the ordeal of their conditions. By the time the ordeal of the cold weather was over they found that they were faced with another which was just as trying - the heat and humidity of the tropics as the ship "Neptune" crossed the Equator and continued south down the coast of Africa. By the time The Cape of Good Hope was reached after 87 days, no fewer than 46 of the convicts had died. Anchoring in False Bay at Capetown on 14 April, the ship "Neptune" stayed for fifteen days, taking on board food, water, a large number of cattle, sheep and pigs, and also twelve convicts from the ill-fated ship "Guardian".

The HMS "Guardian" had been dispatched with supplies for the infant colony of New South Wales in response to an urgent plea sent home by Governor PHILIP with the last returning vessel of the First Fleet. Unfortunately, after the ship "Guardian" had left Capetown on its voyage eastwards, the skipper, Lieutenant RIOU, had taken it too far to the south in his quest for the Roaring Forties, and the ship had run into an iceberg. Two months later RIOU had brought his crippled vessel back into the port at Capetown. The mishap had played a large part in the food shortages which Sydney Town suffered in 1790.

After its stay at Capetown, the ship "Neptune" departed on 29 April to commence its run across to Van Diemen's Land. The existence of the strait we now know as Bass Strait was unknown at that time, so all vessels heading out to Sydney Town via Cape of Good Hope sailed around the south of Van Diemen's Land. More deaths occurred amongst the convicts on board during this leg of the voyage, and while the ship "Neptune" beat its way up the east coast of New South Wales. By the time the ship made its way up Sydney Harbour and dropped anchor in Sydney Cove on 28 June 1790, it had built up the worst record of all convict ships of all time. In all it had lost 147 male and 11 female convicts, and upon its arrival landed 269 others who were sick.

Into Sydney Cove on the same day as the ship "Neptune" arrived, came also the ship "Scarborough". The ship "Surprize" had arrived two days previously. Fortunately the convicts on those ships had fared much better than had the unfortunate souls on the ship "Neptune". The arrival of the Second Fleet was a source of interest for those already in the colony, and many were attracted to the shore to take in the scene. What they observed as the prisoners disembarked was a shocking spectacle. Great numbers of those who came off the ship "Neptune" were not able to walk, or even move a hand of foot. These were slung over the ship's side in the same manner as a box would be slung over. Some fainted as soon as they came out into the open air. Some dropped dead on the deck, while others died in the boat before they reached the shore. Once on the shore some could not stand or walk, or even stir themselves. Some were lead by others and some crept upon hands and knees. All were shockingly filthy, with their heads, bodies, clothes and blankets full of filth and lice.

Somewhere amongst those who came ashore was Thomas HEATHER. It was a scene which he undoubtedly remembered for the remainder of his life. Whether he was one of the sick we do not know, but if he was he soon recovered. He had arrived in a settlement which was so short of food that the hours of public work had recently been shortened, and even the soldiers had pleaded loss of strength. Amongst those who witnessed the shocking spectacle down at the shore that day was Governor PHILIP himself. Not surprisingly, he ordered that an inquiry be held into the conditions on the ship "Neptune".

Thomas HEATHER arrived in the colony when the settlement at Sydney was 2 years old. A second settlement was also being developed on a tract of land at the head of the harbour, and ground prepared for sowing corn. The farm so established became known as Rose Hill. By June 1790 Rose Hill had a population of 200, and in the following month a town was laid out there under the Governors instructions. During that first year that Thomas spent in the colony, many convicts were transferred from Sydney to Rose Hill. It is most likely that Thomas was one of those at the new town before 1790 was out.

The following, is a letter published in the London Morning Chronicle on the 4 August 1791 from a female convict at Sydney Cove, dated 24 July 1790.

"Oh! If you had but seen the shocking sight of the poor creatures that came out in the three ships it would make your heart bleed.
They were almost dead, very few could stand, and they were obliged to fling them as you would goods, and hoist them out of the ships, they were so feeble; and they died ten or twelve a day when they first landed.
The Governor was very angry, and scolded the captains a great deal, and, I heard, intended to write to London about it, for I heard him say it was murdering them. It, to be sure, was a melancholy sight.."


Convict Women on the Neptune
Ships of the Second Fleet

Souces;
A History of THE EATHER FAMILY:
Thomas EATHER and Elizabeth LEE
by John St PIERRE
for the EATHER Family history committee.
The Women of Botany Bay, by Portia Robinson
Australia's Second Fleet - 1790 by Jenny French
janilye
The children of Thomas and Elizabeth LEE :-

1. Ann EATHER 1793 - 1865
2. Robert EATHER 1795 - 1881
3. Charlotte EATHER 1797 - 1862
4. Charles EATHER 1800 - 1891
5' Thomas EATHER 1800 - 1886
6. John EATHER 1804 - 1888
7. Rachel EATHER 1807 - 1875
8. James EATHER 1811 - 1899
for some of my family tree images

I have names on seven people in this photograph, taken on the 11 November 1896. Can anyone name the others? Unfortunately I think the view in here is too small, so if you have an inkling please contact me and I will email you an original. janilye
Standing in the back row is Peter MCALPIN 1809-1898. William Glas McAlpin 1810-1902
Sitting in front of them is Thomas EATHER 1824-1909 and wife Eliza CROWLEY 1822-1897. in front of them is Elizabeth Clark nee McDONALD 1810-1899
The woman in the wheelchair is Elizabeth RUSSELL 1822-1899 and beside her is her husband William PARTRIDGE 1818-1906

January 2014
I now have all the names
The lady standing on the left is Susannah HOLMES, nee TAYLOR 1841-1906; relict of William Holmes of Bulga they had married at Patrick's Plain in 1858. William HOLMES died 28 March 1894.
in front of her sitting is Thomas Hayes b:1824 d:1914 and beside him his wife Mary ann, nee Broughton b: 1826 d: 1904.
Then the centre group which I had .
Over on the right sitting beside William Partridge is James Coe b:1828 d:1910 and his wife Sarah, nee HOWARD b: 1828 d:1908. All are related by marriage except Mrs. Holmes.

The family settled at Bulga but still had a very close connections with Narrabri, the branch most commonly identified with that district is that of James EATHER, youngest son Thomas EATHER 1764-1827 and Elizabeth LEE 1771-1860 who was born at Windsor on 4 March 1811 and died at Narrabri on 26 May 1899. He was the only one of five original brothers to die outside the Hawkesbury district. and the last survivor of the children of Thomas and Elizabeth. Trained to the trade of Wheelwright, he developed interests in the west of the valley and it was claimed that during the 1840s he was the first man to drive a wagon down the precipitous Victoria Pass between Mount Victoria and Hartley.

He obtained a part interest in 'Henriendi' and settled at Narrabri in 1867. The difficulties experienced on the station by his nephew "Old Charley", apparently influenced James EATHER for he turned to free selection on Maule's Creek near Narrabri. He married Mary Ann HAND at Richmond oN the 10 March 1835 and by her, had a family of thirteen. Their eldest son Thomas, was the progenitor of most of the Eather's in the district today, but another son John, was also long associated with Narrabri.

The children of James EATHER 1811-1899 and Mary Ann HAND 1815-1894

1. Thomas EATHER 1836?1929 M. Charlotte Margaret Howell 1842-1899 at
Parramatta, New South Wales, ON 22 November 1860

2. James EATHER 1838?1935 m. Sarah Mary EATHER 1843-1921 on 16 September 1863.

3. John Patrick EATHER 1839?1916 m. Ellen Mary SPENCER 1853-1946 at
Narrabri, New South Wales in 1874.

4. Elizabeth EATHER 1844?1876 m. Edward SHADLOW 1837-1905 at
St Peter's, Church Of England, Richmond, 27 March 1861.

5. Anne Eliza EATHER 1844- ? m. Malcolm MCEACHERN 1844-1878 at
Hartley, New South Wales on 24 February 1870.

6. Charles EATHER 1846-1938 m. Rosalie INGHAM 1865-1950 at
Moree, New South Wales,in 1882.

7. Robert EATHER 1848-1901 m. Ellen BRYANT 1861-1901 at
Lithgow, New South Wales on 5 December 1883.

8. George Henry EATHER 1850-1881 m. Sarah POTTS b:1856 at
Narrabri, New South Wales in 1873.

9. Mary Ann EATHER 1852-1911 m. Eugene Andrew Conmar WHELAN 1842-1941 at Narrabri, New South Wales in 1873.

10. William Abel EATHER 1855-1917 m. Cecilia Ruth VILE 1865-1948 at
Gunnedah, New South Wales in 1885.

11. Sarah Amy EATHER 1857-1937 m. Francis William ROBINSON 1857-1886 at Gunnedah, New South Wales on 5 March 1885.

12. Catherine Matilda EATHER 1858-1939 m. Henry George SPENCER 1855-1936 at Narrabri, New South Wales in 1881.

13. Susannah Charlotte EATHER 1861 - 1911 m. John PITMAN 1859-1911 at Maule's Creek, New South Wales on the 15 February 1882.


The following was compiled by the EATHER FAMILY NEWSLETTER

James EATHER, the eighth and last child of the pioneers, Thomas EATHER and Elizabeth LEE, was born at Windsor on 4 March 1811. His father was nearly 47 and his mother about 39. His eldest sister Ann was already the wife of Joseph ONUS and had baby daughter two months old. When James was about nine his father purchased an allotment in George Street, Windsor, and a house on this allotment became the family home. By the time James was thirteen most of his brothers and sisters had married and left home. After 1824 only James and his elder brother John were still living at home with their parents. Just after James had turned sixteen in 1827 his father died and the family gathered the next day for the funeral service and interment in the churchyard close by St Matthew's Church. There was nothing of immediate importance for James under the bequests in his father's will. Everything that Thomas EATHER had possessed: the houses in George Street; the cattle, carts, farm equipment, and household furniture and effects, all went to his widow. Upon her death James was to receive the front two rooms of the house in which the family was residing, and one cow and calf. As it turned out, James had to wait over 33 years to receive his inheritance. About the time of his father's death or soon afterwards, James commenced training in the skills of a wheelwright. He seems to have persevered with his chosen trade and became, qualified to make and repair wheels for the various carts and wagons in use in the district. In his adult life he served the public for a number of years as a wheelwright with his business premises located in the Richmond district. At the age of twenty-four James married. The wedding was held on 10 March 1835 and the bride was Mary Ann HAND. Mary Ann had been born at Richmond on 23 July, 1815, the fourth child of Patrick HAND and Catherine HATCH. Her father was Irish, born about 1777 probably in Armagh County, Ireland. He had been convicted at Armagh in August 1801 of some political offence and sentenced to seven years transportation. He had arrived in the colony on the ship "Rolla" on 12 May 1803 and assigned to the Parramatta area. After the completion of his sentence, Patrick had moved to the Hawkesbury district and leased land firstly at Cornwallis and later from Archibald BELL at North Richmond. Mary Ann's mother, Catherine HATCH, also hailed from Ireland. She had been born at Dublin in 1786 and had arrived in New South Wales as a convict on the ship "Experiment" on 25 June 1809. She soon became associated with Patrick. Their first children had been twins, Catherine and Patrick, born at Richmond on 17 April 1812. They had been followed by Elizabeth (1813), Mary Ann (1815), John (1816), Charles (1823) and James (1825). Catherine had died during the birth of their son James at their home at Richmond on 4 February 1825. Her death had been followed by that of Patrick on 15 December 1827 at his home at Richmond, so Mary Ann had been left an orphan at the age of ten. For a time her elder sister Catherine cared for the younger children of the family. In 1828 her sister Elizabeth had married Charles CONLAN. At the time of the 1828 census, Mary Ann was living with them at Cornwallis. Following their wedding, James EATHER and Mary Ann lived at Richmond. On 17 January 1836 their first child, Thomas, was born. When he was baptised by the Reverend Henry STILES of St Peter's Church on 14 February 1836, James and Mary Ann were residing at Richmond and James was a wheelwright. On 17 December 1837 their second son, James, was born. On 7 March 1838 he was christened by the Reverend Henry STILES. James and Mary Ann were still residing at Richmond and James was still a wheelwright. On Christmas Day 1839 another son was born and named John Patrick. When the Reverend STILES baptised him on 30 August 1840, James and Mary Ann were still living at Richmond, but James stated that he was a farmer. Probably he was leasing land somewhere in the Richmond district. By 1844, when their fifth child was born, James and Mary Ann were living at Agnes Bank and James was once again a wheelwright. In 1860, Elizabeth EATHER died and James came into his inheritance at last. The cow and calf that he was to inherit, had expired years before. He became the owner of the front two roams of the old family home, while his brother John inherited the remainder of the building. Four of James's nephews each inherited an interest in the family allotment, so by an agreement the land was sub-divided into six small allotments, each with a frontage to George Street of about 30 feet and a depth of about 128 feet. James's allotment was on the north-eastern end of the land, and upon it stood the old EATHER family home. As his brother John had inherited half of the old house, James had to purchase it from him. As he was farming in the Richmond district, he had no intention of taking up residence in Windsor and on 1 June 1861 he mortgaged his allotment to a grazier, John HOSKISSON, for a loan of £250. He probably rented the allotment to a tenant. In 1861, Charlotte Susannah, the thirteenth and last child of James and Mary Ann EATHER was born. During his years in the Richmond district, James had derived an income from several sources. Besides his farming and business as a wheelwright, he had a wagon and team and made a number of journeys carting supplies over the Blue Mountains to Bathurst. His son James recalled in his later years that, as a boy in the 1840's he had accompanied his father on a journey over the mountains. The journey was made during a cold spell in winter, and the bags of sugar on the wagon became so frozen that at the end of the journey they had to be prised off the load with a crow-bar. James and Mary Ann EATHER continued to live in the Richmond district for a few more years. Their eldest son, Thomas, had married Charlotte Margaret HOWELL on 22 November 1860. Eldest daughter Elizabeth married Edward SHADLOW four months later in March 1861, and second son, James, married his cousin, Sarah EATHER, in 1863. Soon the first of many grandchildren was born and was followed in quick procession by several others. Then, in 1867, when in his middle fifties and married for over thirty years, James left the Hawkesbury Valley and took his wife and family north to the far-off Liverool Plains to live. It was a momentous decision to make at his age, but it appears that he had obtained a part interest in "Henriendi", the EATHER station near Boggabri on the Namoi River. Soon after arriving in the Namoi district, he took up a selection on Maule's Creek near Narrabri and continued with farming and grazing. There, with Mary Ann and those of their children still at home, he lived for nearly twenty years. After James EATHER inherited a part of the property "Henriendi" in 1867 he and certain members of his family departed the Hawkesbury and travelled to the Namoi area, which was where the family estate was located - east of Baan Baa and north of Boggabri. Thus in August of that year a Richmond bank noted his address as, "Care of Mr Charles EATHER, Henriendi, Namoi River." (Mrs Pat Taylor and the 1867 ledger of the Richmond branch of the Bank of New South Wales).
At the time of their arrival, "Henriendi" was in the hands of James' nephew Charles EATHER who unfortunately had started to run into financial trouble. (See EATHER Newsletter No 168, March 2005 - Insolvency Papers of Charles EATHER, and EATHER Newsletter No 177, March 2008). It is unclear if James was aware that all was not well at "Henriendi" but whatever the case he wasted little time being idle for in the same year of his arrival there he ventured about 26 kilometers north east of Baan Baa where he selected 300 acres of land on Maule's Creek which was also known as Kihi Creek. This was the old squatting locality of his brother-in-law Joseph ONUS Senior, who in the 1830's, held the run "Theribry/Therribri" - so it is hard to believe that he went there by chance. James' land was recorded on a parish map of Durrisdeer, County Nandewar, as Block 20. Water was on hand as on the south it was bordered by Maule's Creek. Here James commenced building the family home - perhaps with the assistance of the £200 that he had recently borrowed from John HOSKISSON. (See John ST PIERRE for this money transaction of August 1867 in "EATHER Family Volume 1", page 50.)
The money borrowed from HOSKISSON was by way of a second mortgage taken out on his property in George Street, Windsor which he had inherited from his parents, Thomas HEATHER/EATHER and Elizabeth LEE. Whilst James had started to borrow money in June 1861 from HOSKISSON (ibid) it was after the June 1867 flood, when the EATHER home in George Street, Windsor was documented as submerged ("Hawkesbury in Flood" - compiled and Researched by Denise HAYES, 1997) and 12 members of his brother Charles' family were drowned at Comwallis, that he took out an additional mortgage. After which he left the district - as others did. Possibly he used the ?200 for his selection and new home at Maule's Creek or even a portion of it may have been spent on repairs occasioned by the flood to his George Street home. According to Samuel BOUGHTON, a local historian, James had erected a new dwelling there: In a letter of 1875 in which he spoke of the 1874 Windsor fire, BOUGHTON said: "In George Street the fire missed the place Jim EATHER built" {See Windsor & Richmond Gazette, August 27, 1958} BOUGHTON was certainly speaking of the section of George Street where the EATHER property was located. Presently the department store of "Target" occupies the site -having replaced "Coles Supermarket". In 1868 James' address was still recorded at "Henriendi" so possibly the family home was incomplete or he deemed the latter address more convenient for incoming mail. Three years later, in 1871, his nephew Charles EATHER signed voluntary sequestration papers when "Henriendi" was also mortgaged to the previously mentioned John HOSKISSON for £3,400. In addition there was a second mortgage for £1,300 on the 32,000 acre property, which was disputed. The total value of the property was stated as £6,000. While John HOSKISSON has been recorded several times in recent EATHER newsletters in relation to family land, in 1869, he also became the owner of James' property in George Street, Windsor. The next selection taken up at Maule's Creek was by James and Mary Ann's unmarried son, Charles EATHER, who selected 150 acres in 1872 in which year James' postal address was also given there. Charles' land, Block 19, adjoined his parents on the east and also had a frontage to Maule's Creek. The following year (1873) Charles' sister, Mary Ann EATHER, married Eugene Andrew Conmar WHELAN who selected land to the east of James and Charles. The last selection taken up by James was in 1878. At this time he took up a further 340 acres which on the east adjoined his first selection of 1867. It was Block 65 on the Parish Map however the block number cannot be seen. This land also adjoined on the south Charles' selection of 1872 and it had no water frontage. In 1878 the family land in the area totalled 790 acres. Subsequently, around seven years later, James took up residence at Narrabri where he had also obtained property. He died there in 1899 while his wife Mary Ann died at the same place in 1894. It is not known at this time when James sold his land at Maule's Creek but by 1902 both of his selections were in the hands of William Francis JAQUES who held the land until at least 1929. JAQUES (who also acquired the block of land that adjoined James' Block 20 on the east) was a big landowner on the Namoi having acquired some 60,000 acres by 1884/5. In 1902 Charles EATHER's land was listed in the hands of W R HALL. He (Charles) had married in 1882 Rosalie INGHAM. It appears in later maps that the EATHER selections on Maule's Creek were partly incorporated into the present day "Elfin" but more research needs to be done to be certain. Dawn McDOBALD, daughter of the Namoi and a descendant of James EATHER is trying to find out more.
On 17 August 1867, during the year that he left the Hawkesbury district, James borrowed another £200 from John HOSKISSON, thus extending the mortgage on his allotment at Windsor to a total of £450. Two years later he came to an arrangement with John HOSKISSON regarding the loan, and on 9 September 1869 an Indenture was drawn up, under which the allotment became the property of the mortgagor in settlement of a debt of £480, consisting of a debt of ?450 and interest of £30. James had in effect disposed of his late parents' old home and his share of their allotment for £480. During the 1870's four more of the children of James and Mary Ann married. Anne Eliza married Malcolm McEACHERN in 1870; Mary Ann married Eugene Andrew Conmar WHELAN in 1873; George Henry married Sarah POTTS also in 1873; and John Patrick, at the age of 34, married Ellen Mary SPENCER in 1874. Grief was thrust upon the family however when in 1876, eldest daughter Elizabeth died at the age of 33, leaving her husband Edward with several small children. Second daughter, Anne Eliza, suffered the loss of her husband Malcolm in 1878 and became a widow at the age of 34 with four small children. Further family marriages continued in the next decade, when the remainder of their children married. Catherine Matilda married Henry George SPENCER in 1881. Charlotte Susannah married her distant cousin John PITMAN in 1882; and in that same year her brother Charles married Rosalie INGHAM. Their brother Robert married Ellen BRYANT in 1883, and finally William Abel and Sarah Amy both married in 1885. William was wed to Cecilia Ruth VILE and Sarah took Francis W ROBINSON as her husband. By then some grandchildren had married and in 1883 James and Mary Ann became great-grandparents. Grief had struck the family again in November 1881 when son George Henry had died. To add to family tribulations, two of George's six children succumbed to ailments during the following year.
On 10 March 1885 James and Mary Ann celebrated their golden wedding. He was 74 and she had just turned seventy. Of their fifty years of marriage, they had much to be proud. They had succeeded in rearing thirteen children without loss and had seen them all married. Unfortunately two of them, Elizabeth and George, had already passed on. About this time they decided that with all their family now married it was time to give up living on the farm and to seek an easier life for their remaining years. Over the years James had speculated in various ways and had a reputation for being prudent in his transactions. He had acquired some property in the town of Narrabri, so he and Mary Ann took up residence in a house that he owned there. There they resided until Mary Ann died in 1894. From time to time during the 1880's word reached James that one of his brothers had died down on the Hawkesbury. Each occasion stirred memories of his early years.
In 1881 it was his eldest brother Robert and in 1886 it was Thomas. He was followed in 1888 by bachelor brother John. When word came in 1891 that Charles had died, James knew that he was the last surviving child of his pioneer parents, Thomas and Elizabeth EATHER. Aged eighty, he was still relatively hale and regarded by those who knew him as having a cast-iron constitution.
On 9 October 1894, Mary Ann died at the age of 79. Many of her children and grandchildren were amongst the many relatives and friends of the family who gathered at the graveside when her body was interred at the Narrabri Cemetery. James was 83 when his wife died. Members of his family realised that he needed company and care in his declining years, and that he should not be left to live alone in the house that he had hitherto shared with Mary Ann. His son William invited him to live with him and his wife Cecilia. It was an offer that James accepted and he spent the last four years of his life residing in William's home at Narrabri.
As time went on he became increasingly deaf and the vigour and energy of earlier years deserted him. By the middle of May 1899 his health was in such a state of decline that the local medico, Dr SEGOL, was called and he provided medication and kindness.The end was inevitable, however, and at the age of 88 years and two months, James EATHER passed away during the evening of 26 May 1899. With him went the last of the original EATHER family in Australia. It was just 102 years since his father had settled in the Hawkesbury district.

Much has been written about our terrible family loss in the drowning of 12 EATHER's during the June 1867 flood at Cornwallis, but little about the other poor souls who drowned or the terrible losses and hardship to the people of New South Wales in the middle of a very cold winter.

It is to be noted, the flood was not just in the Cornwallis/Windsor district, but encompassed most of the state. In all, it is probable, that thirty lives were lost in New South Wales between the 21 June and the 26th June 1867.

Firstly, I'd like to tell you about the appalling tragedy of Daniel Isaac BAKER (1814-1886) and his wife Mary Ann, nee MYERS (1824-1867). On the night of the 21 June 1867, Mary Ann and seven of her nine children died in the freezing water. Daniel and Mary lived in a hut at the junction of the Mudgee river, working as shepherds for the Blundun's at Burrandong. This isolated family was surrounded by water that rose six feet in ten minutes. At the first rush of water, they all climbed onto the table, then up to the loft and then, Daniel cut a hole in the bark and hoisted them onto the roof. Daniel held the children in his arms, dropping them as they died from the freezing cold. They remained on the roof until the water reached their mouths then they tried to swim for a tree. Only Daniel and two children, Moses 17 and Cecilia 15 survived. The children who died with Mary Ann were;

Daniel Baker 1854-1867, Henry Shadrach Baker 1856-1867, Andrew William Baker 1858-1867, Charles Frederick 1860-1867, John Isaac Baker 1862-1867, Thomas Edwin Baker 1864-1867, Mary Ann Elizabeth Baker 1866-1867.

Also in the same house was a neighbour, Frederick SMITH the son of Edward and Elizabeth Smith. He arrived at dusk to help, whilst his wife Mary Ann Smith went to find a boat. Mrs. Smith survived the flood and came about daylight the next morning. The brave Mrs. Smith could hear them cooeying for a long time but had great difficulty navigating the boat for a mile through the strong currents. She rescued Daniel , Moses, and Cecilia from the tree by the swamped shepherd's hut and took them to shore.

In Wagga Wagga on the Friday night of the 21 June 1867 the Murrumbidgee broke it's banks flooding the town, two lives were lost. One was Samuel CHATTO 1839-1867 from Sydney, working as a labourer at Henry PAUL's station. The free selectors suffered severely on the flats, many losing their homes. 100 head of cattle and 450 sheep were washed away.

On Saturday night the Denison Bridge at Bathurst was washed away and at Murchison, the railway station was completely under water. Between the Pitt Town Punt and Wisemans Ferry the water was sixteen feet deep, you could not see the telegraph poles or wires. All communication was lost.

At Penrith, the families living on the banks of the Nepean had to quickly abandon their homes and seek shelter at the police barracks, the public hospital or railway station. On Friday morning several houses were submerged, some carried away bodily. 200 houses from High Street to Proctors Lane were filled with water to the ceilings of their ground floors. The once neat and comfortable homesteads surrounded by orchards and gardens had disappeared. Hundreds of bushels of corn, hundreds of pigs and poultry, many horses and cattle were all swept away. Fowls drenched almost to death were to be seen roosting on the saddleboards of the deserted and innundated houses.

On the night of the 21st, to the north, on the Wollombi, people took shelter in the Church of England and at the Court House as the freezing waters rose to their highest level in history, indeed, at midnight on the 21st the water was six inches into the church of England. But, for the promptness of the Police Magistrate Mr. Doppling and his dingy, the Rev. Mr. SHAW would have drowned whilst trying to save his stock. Few people escaped some loss at Wollombi, the Wesleyan Chapel and the homes of Mr. WHITEMAN and Mr. BOURNE were completely washed away and the Catholic Church had fifteen feet of water in it.

As the town flooded at Fordwich, Joseph CLARK 1817-1889 watched in horror as his store and the post office was carried down the street in a river of water.

Whilst over in Lochinvar on the night of the 22nd Mr. P GREEN at Kaludah, saw a seven knot an hour river race through and destroy his grapevines. Mr J.F.DOYLE, vineyard owner, with his own boat, tirelessly, rescued a dozen families even though he needed the boat at his own place to save his belongings.

Of Course, Windsor and surrounds suffered greatly. From Thursday at 11:00am when the water was over the banks at South Creek and in Windsor it was up to the bank and as it rained all Thursday night with gale forced winds the people were in imminent danger. With the few private boats available people were being taken from the roofs of their houses in Wilberforce and Cornwallis. By the afternoon of Friday the 21st the river had risen by forty eight feet, three feet higher than during the flood of 1864. The only parts of the town habitable were the upper portion of George Street, the water on the lower portion was three feet high. The Catholic church and McQuades Corner were above water. The Reverend C F GARNSEY's residence "Fairfield", was not overly large, but still managed to squeeze in two hundred people. The residence of Mr. William WALKER 1828-1908 local solicitor and MLA was also above water and crowded with the refugees. Everything else was out of sight in the town, but for the chimneys on the higher houses. Two thousand homeless sufferers crowded around the School of Arts, The Catholic Church and above the floodline in the Wesleyan, and The Courthouse. The Rev.Henry Carleton Stiles at St.Matthew's Anglican lay dying when the great flood was at its highest, and from his deathbed he gave orders to throw the church doors open and admit the crowds of homeless sufferers.
Everybody, whose house was above the floodline threw open their doors to the victims. The Reverend C F GARNSEY said, at a meeting chaired by Mr. WALKER MLA on the 2 July to devise a means of relief for the sufferers, " No one, unless he had been an eyewitness to the scene could have believed what had happened. There were only two small necks of land left to bring the comfortless people and he knew, as the waters rose, there were many who looked with anxious eyes and thoughts of where they might next take themselves for safety". The houses of the settlers had been razed to the ground and in many instances, not a stick, not an article of clothing had been left to the sufferers. The government boats from Customs and the water police did not arrive from Sydney until Friday night, by then, too late for most. As the waters subsided it was noted that, from the Windsor Ferry to the township of Wilberforce and also along Freeman's reach to the Highlands, no more than eight houses were left standing and all were badly damaged.

Amongst the tragedies there were many, many hero's and several very lucky escapes. One, very lucky to be alive was Alfred NORRIS 1837-1875 and his family, Here is his story;

Alfred took his family to a large willow tree and lashed his wife and two of their children to the highest branches. The third child he held in his arms. There were few boats available, and in the dark the rescuers had a very difficult time finding the people who had sheltered in the trees. By 4:30 pm Friday 21st the rivers had risen by forty eight feet, three feet higher than the 1804 flood. The water, had almost swamped Alfred. He was exhausted from holding the child and on the point of collapse when a boat found him and took Alfred and his family to safety.

Written by Janilye 2010

Inquest on six bodies of the Eathers lost in the Flood
Wednesday 26 June 1867.
Commercial Hotel, Windsor, New South Wales

A coroners inquiry was held on Wednesday 26 June 1867, at the Commercial Hotel, Windsor before Mr. Laban White and a jury, on the bodies of Catherine Eather, Mary Ann Eather, Catherine Eather the younger, Charles Eather, Emma Eather and Annie Eather. The wives and children of William and Thomas Eather of Cornwallis, whose mournful fate will never be forgotton in this district.

Thomas Eather, having been duly sworn deposed: I am a farmer and resided in Cornwallis, my family consisted of my wife Emma, aged 36 years, and four girls and two boys of the several ages of sixteen, fourteen, twelve, ten, eight and three. The last time I saw six of them alive(the eldest son of Thomas Eather the deponent, was fortunately from home and not in the flood) was on Friday night. Yesterday my oldest daughter Annie was brought into Windsor, the body having been seen floating near the place where she was drowned; today the body of my wife Emma was found. On Friday afternoon the waters had risen and continued to rise, very rapidly; we were all obliged to fly to the ridge pole of the house hoping to be rescued by some boat; we remained some hours in awful suspense till the violence of the wind and the waves swept the building and the whole of us into the water. I came up from the water and found myself in the branches of a cedar tree; I looked round after my wife and children, but could see none of them; in about an hour after I was rescued by three men in a boat. I told them what had happened. They landed me at Mr. Arthur Dight's, Clarendon. There must have been twenty feet of water where my family was drowned.

William Eather, being duly sworn deposed: I am a farmer and resided at Cornwallis; my family consisted of my wife Catherine Eather aged 37 and my children, Mary Ann, Catherine, Charles, Clara and William, of the respective ages of 11, 9, 6, 3 and 1; on last Friday night I saw them alive; they were then on top of a house of my brother, George Eather, having gone there for safety; I was with them; we were about 200 yards from my brother Thomas's; we had been there from Thursday night; on Friday night, I was about taking my oldest boy into my arms, when I was washed away by the waves; I saw a tree close by, after I surfaced and managed to make for it. I heard the screams of my wife and children, but I could not see them; I fastened myself to a tree and in a short time was rescued by a boat specially sent by Mr Arthur Dight; I believe my wife and three of my children have been brought to Windsor dead.

Phillip Maguire, having been duly sworn deposed: I am a farmer and live at Nelson, and a brother in law of Mrs. William Eather; I went with Charles Eather, Thomas Eather and Charles Westall in search of bodies; yesterday (Tuesday) about 2 o'clock in the afternoon we found Thomas Eather's eldest daughter Annie, floating about 40 yards from where the family had been carried away; this morning we found four more bodies; the dead bodies of which the coroner and jury have had to view, I recognise as the remains of Catherine Eather, wife of William Eather, and Mary Ann, Catherine and Charles the children of William Eather, also Emma, the wife of Thomas Eather and Annie, his eldest daughter.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental drowning. Boats have been out all day searching for other bodies, but have returned unsuccessful.


transcribed by janilye from a report in the Sydney Morning Herald 1 July 1867.

The daughter of William L LEE born at Portscatha, Cornwall, England in 1744 and died in England in 1827. Her Mother was Margaret born in 1750 in England. A birth name or a death date has not been found for Margaret.
Elizabeth LEE was born on 7 September 1771 and christened at Cocky Moor Presbyterian Church, Ainsworth Lancashire on the 15 September 1771. In the cemetery adjoining the Cocky Moor church there is one grave marked 'Lee' with, unfortunately no other information.

In 1789 when Elizabeth LEE ( sometimes known as Elizabeth Johnson) was about 17, she was employed by Elizabeth BUCKLEY as either a domestic servant or shop assistant.

On 4 December of that year Elizabeth LEE was arrested and committed for trial on the charge of "having stolen and carried away a grey cloak out of the dwelling house of Elizabeth BUCKLEY of Manchester".

The trial was at the Epiphany Quarter Sessions at Manchester 21 January 1790 - "Indictment charges that Elizabeth LEE late of the Parish of Manchester in the said County Singlewoman on the thirtieth day of November in the thirtieth year of the reign of our Lord George the third now King of Great Britain and so forth with force and Arms at the Parish aforesaid in the County aforesaid one Woman's Cloak to the value of six pence of the proper Goods and Chattels of one Elizabeth BUCKLEY then and there being found feloniously did steal and take and carry away against the Peace of our said Lord the King his Crown and Dignity" - sentence 7 years.

The trial was reported in the Manchester Mercury newspaper.
Elizabeth LEE pleaded guilty to the charge.

Elizabeth LEE was returned to the goal in the Lancaster Castle and incarcerated there until February 1791. She was then conveyed from Lancaster to the ship "Mary Ann" at Gravesend on the Thames River.

The ship sailed to Portsmouth under the command of Captain MUNRO and departed from there for the voyage to the NSW Colony 23 February 1791. She arrived in Sydney on 7 July 1791.
Elizabeth LEE was probably transferred on arrival to Parramatta.She completed her sentence in 1797.

Elizabeth LEE married Thomas EATHER formerly HEATHER 1764-1827 in 1791. They had eight children.

1.Ann EATHER 1793 ? 1865 m.(1)Joseph ONUS 1782-1835 (2) William SHARP 1810-1897
2.Robert EATHER 1795 ? 1881 m. (1)Mary LYNCH 1802-1853 (2) Elizabeth BROWNE nee CREAGH 1802-1873
3.Charlotte EATHER 1797 ? 1862 m. (10 Joseph WINDSOR (2)Robert WILLIAMS 1795-1839 (3) William James MALONEY 1818-1883
4.Charles EATHER 1800 ? 1891 m. Ann GOUGH nee CAIN 1797-1871
5.Thomas EATHER 1800 ? 1886 m. Sarah MCALPIN 1805-1884
6.John EATHER 1804 ? 1888 Never Married
7.Rachel EATHER 1807 ? 1875 m. John NORRIS 1803-1864
8.James EATHER 1811 ? 1899 m. Mary Ann HAND 1815-1894

Thomas EATHER died on the 22 March 1827 at Windsor, New South Wales.

Elizabeth Died on the 11 June 1860 at Richmond, New South Wales.

The number of her decendants was reckoned at that time to be 157.

Edward Prosper Huxley (1848-1921)and Amy Susannah Eather (1857-1943)

In 1873, Edward was a 25 year old butcher in Narrabri when he married the 16 year old Amy Susannah, the daughter of William Eather and Ann Senior and the granddaughter of Thomas Eather and Sarah, nee McAlpin.

For a few years Edward continued to run his butcher shop at Narrabri, by 1887 had become a publican between Narrabri and West Narrabri, and in 1889 he was recorded as being a grazier at Boheno Creek. In 1897 or 1898 he and Amy left the Narrabri district and took over a produce dealership at Moree. Amy became a substantive partner with Edward in their produce/ merchant business. Her signature is recorded in the East Moree Bank of NSW (Westpac) signature book, dated 24 August 1898.

They continued to operate this business until 1900. In 1903 Edward was shown on the electoral roll as a storekeeper at Ravenswood, but residing at Warren with Amy and some of their family, of whom daughters Olive and Norma were also on the electoral roll. In 1906, Edward was still at Ravenswood but Amy, Olive and Norma were recorded as residing at Trangie. In 1909 Edward had joined his wife and children at Trangie where his occupation was given as a drover. By 1913 they had all moved to Milson's Point in Sydney, and by then daughter Vivienne was also on the electoral roll. All except Vivienne remained at that address between 1915 and 1919. Edward died on 7 June 1921 and was buried at Waverley. After his death Amy moved to Cremorne and appears to have remained there. She died on 30 July 1943 at her residence, 81 Spencer Road. Cremorne.

They had had a family of ten, but all three of their sons and two of their daughters died in infancy or early childhood. Of their five daughters who reached adulthood, Mary married Henry J SAMUELS in 1896, and Olive married Sidney SHIPTON, Vivienne married John Gordon Campbell in St. Leonards in 1915 and Gladys married Ociola Howell Seymour Cowdroy in St. Leonards in 1915. Norma, remained a spinster. Two of the sons Edward Prosper( who was known as Prossie), and Richard Lionel, died within a month of each other in 1890 at Cooma Station. There are very few decendants of Amy and Edward, and none that bear the HUXLEY surname.

For a comprehensive history of the Huxley Family I recommend the book called " Transported to Paradise " by Doug Huxley

Thomas Eather 1800-1886
submitted by janilye on 21 August 2009
MY 3RD GREAT GRANDFATHER


They came of bold and roving stock that would not fixed abide;
They were the sons of field and flock since e'er they learnt to ride,
We may not hope to see such men in these degenerate years
As those explorers of the bush -- the brave old pioneers.

'Twas they who rode the trackless bush in heat and storm and drought;
'Twas they who heard the master-word that called them farther out;
'Twas they who followed up the trail the mountain cattle made,
And pressed across the mighty range where now their bones are laid.

But now the times are dull and slow, the brave old days are dead
When hardy bushmen started out, and forced their way ahead
By tangled scrub and forests grim towards the unknown west,
And spied the far-off promised land from off the range's crest.

Oh! ye that sleep in lonely graves by far-off ridge and plain,
We drink to you in silence now as Christmas comes again,
To you who fought the wilderness through rough unsettled years --
The founders of our nation's life, the brave old pioneers.
Banjo Patterson



The history of Thomas Eather contrasts dramatically with the failures and sadness associated with the family of his twin brother Charles.
Taught the trade of shoemaker, he was able by the age of 20 to divert his interests to farming whilst continuing to employ several men in his shoemaking establishment at Richmond. In the tight confines of the Hawkesbury valley there was no room for pastoral expansion, so, in 1826 Thomas made his first venture across the rugged mountain ranges seperating Hawkesbury from the hunter, taking with him his young wife Sarah, nee MCALPIN and their 2yr. old son Thomas.

In company with Sarah's brother William Glas MCALPIN, some aboriginals and a stockman named Billy Freeman, the pioneers set out over the mountains, with two pack bullocks and another bullock on which Sally (as she was called) rode with young Tommy on her lap. There was a distance of 100 miles to tramp through the trackless mountains, guided only by the marked trees, blazed a short time before. The aboriginals knew the route and they arrived safely at the foot of the Bulga Plateau where on Cockfighter's Creek (a reach of the Wollombi Brook), they made camp and lived for a short time. Sarah (Sally) EATHER was the first white woman to cross the mountains from Hawkesbury to Bulga.

The name of the Eather property there is called 'Meerea' an aboriginal word meaning Beautiful Mountain.

Before survey and location of lands in the Bulga region there was no possibility of obtaining title, even though many pioneers used Crown Lands as pasturage. On the creek, Thomas EATHER managed to obtain a "clearing lease" where in November 1829, he was living with his wife and four children (Elizabeth, Charles and Annie had now joined young Tommy) and four free servants.

A gauge of his enterprise is given by the fact that in addition to the shoemaking business at Richmond, he had then 20 acres clear of which 10 were fenced and planted with corn and was also running 150 head of cattle and two brood mares far away to the north at 'Muggarie' on Liverpool Plains.

Towards the end of 1829, Thomas EATHER established residence on a farm near that of his brother- in- law Joseph ONUS, at Wollombi where he built two residences and made other improvements before it was discovered that all the occupants of land in the vicinity were on the wrong blocks. Meanwhile he had leased the mistaken farm to a tenant and moved back to Richmond, so that when the error in locating the Wollombi farms became an issue in 1833 there were only two owners ( Thomas TAILBY and George EATON) living on their farms. When the confusion was straightened out EATHER was given title to his Wollombi land, but he had made his headquarters in Richmond. Nevertheless, his interests did not narrow and he extended to the west as well as the north. In 1840 he subscribed 5pound to the building of the road from Windsor to Mt. Tomah. He died at Richmond on the 19 November 1886, surviving his wife by two years.

The earliest official record of the Liverpool Plains squattage mentioned by Thomas EATHER in 1829 does not occur until ten years later when it's name was given as "Muggarie".

From the book "A Million Wild Acres"
[Thomas Eather from 'Henriendi' went beyond them all, an extraordinary move to Muggarie on the Narran River near present day Angledool, over a 100 kilometres north-west of the junction of the Namoi and Barwon. The station was so remote that even when it was described nine years later for the 1848 Government Gazette there were no neighbours. In 1847 three of Thomas Eather's nephews, Abraham, Thomas and James, were working at the station. Abraham, one of his brothers and two other young men left to bring up more cattle. By the time they got back with the mob, probably a couple of months later, the water holes had dried up. John GRIFFITHS, an orphan reared with the family, died of thirst. The others abandoned the cattle and barely got through. Aborigines found them and helped them in]

In 1849, Muggarie totalling 32,000 acres, on Narran Creek, was occupied by Robert EATHER 1795-1881 while Thomas's holding, measuring 15 square miles, was "Henryandie". According to family tradition, the original name was "Ing-in-ing-in-ing-indi" but it finally settled into "Henriendi" and as the boundaries were gradually determined it was located on the Namoi River, six miles east of Baan Baa.

Thomas EATHER and Sarah McALPIN 1805-1884 were married on the 24 August 1824 at St.Matthews Church of England. They had 13 children;
Thomas EATHER 1824 - 1909
Elizabeth EATHER 1825 - 1884
Charles EATHER 1827 - 1891
Ann EATHER 1829 - 1918
Peter EATHER 1831 - 1911
William EATHER 1832 - 1915
Sarah EATHER 1834 - 1926
Charlotte EATHER 1836 - 1888
Robert EATHER 1838 - 1838
James EATHER 1839 - 1934
Susannah EATHER 1842 - 1848 Susannah and her little friends were playing in a pound paddock next door to the house, when one of the children set fire to some long grass. Susannah's dress caught fire in the flames. She died 2 days later as the result of her severe burns

John Rowland EATHER 1843 - 1923
Catherine EATHER 1846 - 1928

Thomas Eather's second son, Charles Eather who was born at Bulga on 25 October 1827, was sent to Henriendi in 1841 and twenty years later was given the station by his father. In 1866, in addition to Henriendi(which had then an area of 16,000 acres and was grazing 1,000 head of cattle). he controlled four Warrego squatting stations- Back Ballinbillian, Gumanaldy, Back Moongoonoola and Pinegobla- with a total area of 82,000 acres and a total carrying capacity of 16,000 sheep.

The frequent trips between the Muggarie and Wollombi took two months by spring carts, braving the dangers of the terrain and the threat of surprise by bushrangers.

Frederick Wordsworth WARD 1836-1870 aka Captain Thunderbolt (his sister Amelia was married to Thomas's twin, Charles EATHER 1800-1891 stepson James GOUGH), who terrorised the New England district and the north-west of New South Wales between 1863 and 1870, was a frequent visitor to "Henriendi".
" He always said he'd not molest the Eather's", recalled a daughter of the family many years later, "but he wasn't above stealing a good piece of horseflesh when he saw it".

Excerpt from Aunt Liz's Jottings:
Bulga's original discovery dates with the discovery of St Patrick's Plains by John Howe's party of explorers in March 1820, being the first place reached on leaving the mountains. The explorers, Howe, Singleton and Thorley, descended from a spur in Welsh's Inlet, on the Milbrodale Estate, formerly owned by Mr Len Dodds. Its first pioneers, of which there is an authentic record, were Thomas Eather and William Glas McAlpin, who came to Bulga In 1826, accompanied by aboriginal guides. The journey was made on foot from Richmond, through Colo, Putty and Howe's Valley, leading a bullock used as a pack animal. In some places the track was so steep, that the bullock had to be relieved of his burden, and the packs man-handled down. One night the bullock decided to dissolve his partnership with the men, and ran away. Young William Glas McAlpin said to Mr Thomas Eather, "What ever will we do now?" and Mr Eather replied, "Carry the packs on our backs." This they did all that day, but by nightfall the bullock had become lonely, and changing his mind, caught up with the men. Were they glad to see his old face again! After looking at the possibilities at Bulga, they retraced their steps to Richmond. In the same year, 1826, they returned; Thomas Eather bringing his wife, who was formerly Sarah McAlpin (she was known as "Sally"), a sister of young William Glas McAlpin. At this time horses were extremely scarce and expensive, so Sally rode a bullock led by her husband who was on foot, and holding her 18 month old son, Thomas Eather (the third), in front of her. William Glas McAlpin and Billy Freeman led the pack bullocks, and with some aborigines and dogs, the procession started on the 100 mile tramp through the trackless mountains. Marked trees were the only guide they had, but the black fellows knew the way and where to find water. At last they arrived at the foot of the mountain at Bulga, where they made camp for some time near the creek before erecting a dwelling where "Richmond" stands today. Mr Thomas Eather II had acquired a grant of land from the Crown.
From Eather Family Newsletter September 1998
No 142 Editor Mildred Reynolds.


Excerpt from the Eather Family Newsletter September 1997 :- On the 26 June 1834, Thomas Eather Junior took out a license for the "Union Inn" in Windsor Street, Richmond, located in premises owned and built for his sister Ann's husband, Joseph Onus. The public house was situated on land bought from Edward Powell and was one house removed from the home of Thomas' brother-in-law, William Glas McAlpin. In 1835, Joseph Onus died and the two storey brick building housing the "Union Inn" passed into the hands of Thomas Onus, who in 1842 married Elizabeth, the daughter of Thomas Eather Junior. Nearly two years after Joseph Onus' death, his widow Ann, nee Eather, married William Sharp/Sharpe. Hence, on later maps of Richmond the land acquired by Joseph Onus from Edward Powell, appears in the name of Ann/Anne Sharpe. On 10 January 1837, Thomas Eather Junior and William Price were granted a small town allotment in Richmond, consisting of one acre, three roods, and thirty nine perches in West Market and Windsor Streets. Whereas, Thomas occupied the corner section of the grant and held land in both streets, William Price owned a portion of the town allotment fronting Windsor Street. Thomas Junior's daughters were "fine looking women" and the three young women portrayed on the sign of the "Union Inn" were said to strongly resemble Thomas' three eldest daughters, Elizabeth, (Mrs Thomas Onus/Mrs Joseph Rutter) Annie, (Mrs Edwin Young) and Sarah (Mrs William Eaton). These three girls were said to be beautiful although their beauty was not that - "of fair skin and, yellow hair, but the beauty of bright eyes, fine features and good style." Said to be - "a man of very quiet habits who would not allow anyone to impose on him," Thomas managed his hotel, "in a manner beyond reproach."

For more details Please ask. janilye
Below is a photograph of 'Meerea' taken after restoration

William Tobias EATHER 1852-1922 and Charlotte Elizabeth, nee STRATFORD 1854-1932 had eight sons, one of whom, Joseph Henry EATHER, born Henry Joseph on the 1 December 1876 at Richmond in New South Wales.

In their family bible a note, testifying to the breaking-up of families in the jobless nineties, records that on the 7 February 1897 Joseph EATHER left Richmond with his uncles, (Leslie STRATFORD 1862-1904 and Joseph STRATFORD 1868-1943), bound for Coolgardie Western Australia, two thousand miles away.

Joseph's fortunes in Western Australia were ill-starred. He never married and he met a mysterious death by drowning in the Avon River. His body was recovered from the river at Dale's Bridge, Beverley, on the 12 June 1930 and it was noted that his hands were tied behind his back. The Acting Coroner at the time, Mr.D.H. FORBES began an inquest the next day, which was adjourned sine die.

I have never been able to find whether or not this inquest was resumed or the outcome.

* The William Tobias EATHER Family bible was in the possession of Mrs. Eric Rogers of Ashfield NSW, many years ago, I do not know it's present whereabouts.

William Tobias EATHER and Charlotte Elizabeth STRATFORD were married in 1874 at Richmond NSW

The children of William Tobias EATHER -son of Robert Vincent EATHER 1824-1879 and Ann, nee CORNWELL 1831-1889 and his wife Charlotte Elizabeth, nee STRATFORD the daughter of Joseph STRATFORD 1826-1885 and Rachel ROBERTS 1827-1882. were:-

William Frederick Charles EATHER 1875 ? 1917
**Joseph Henry EATHER 1876 ? 1930
Albert Edward EATHER 1878 ? 1881
John Roland EATHER 1880 ? 1918
Elsie Rachel EATHER 1883 ? 1954
Ruby Elvina EATHER 1885 ? 1948
Cassma Carrington EATHER 1888 ? 1960
Robert Carrington EATHER 1889 ? 1941
Hilton Claude EATHER 1892 ? 1959
Reginald Gordon EATHER 1894 ? 1894

This is the Robert EATHER 1795-1881 Mary LYNCH 1802-1853 line
Story Source: janilye

The son of Charles Eather 1800-1891 and Ann CAIN 1797-1871
Charles Eather was born at Richmond, New South Wales in May 1825 and married twice. His first wife was Frances Emma WATT 1829-1866 whom he married on the 3 December 1849, at the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Windsor.

His second wife was Mrs. Maria SOMMERS nee NORRIS, Maria was the daughter of Patrick NORRIS 1823-1890 and Eliza WILSON 1827-1905. They married in Queensland in 1868. Maria's first husband had been George Sydney SOMMERS 1840-1918 with whom she had one son -George Patrick Sommers born in Cornwallis in 1865 and died in 1948.

In the early 1890's Charles moved to Queensland to live and his many decendants have since made the name familiar in that state. Although by trade a cabinetmaker, he spent much of his life in Farming. have since made the name familiar in that state. Although by trade a cabinetmaker, he spent much of his life in Farming.

Charles age 74 died at the Blackall Hospital from the effects of arsenic poisoning. He was camped at Ravensbourne Station at Blackall and it was supposed that arsenic was accidently mixed with the flour supplied by the station. Several others in the same camp were taken ill after eating damper made with the flour

One of his daughters, Frances Emma, 1854-1866. had married Captain Henry Alban Gray, a ship's pilot in Sydney, and they seem to have led the migration to Queensland for they were living at Bundaburg in 1889. In that year, Mrs. Gray's half sister, Lavinia Eather b:1869 visited them and met another shipping man, Capt. Hugh McIntosh whom she married at Bundaberg on 26 December 1889.

The children of Charles EATHER 1825-1899 and Frances Emma, nee WATTS were:-

1.Edward Charles EATHER 1850 ? 1937 a saddler, never married, died on Stradbroke Iseland.

2.John James EATHER 1852 ? 1920

3.Frances Emma Eather 1854 ? 1946

4.Albert E EATHER 1857 ? 1857

5.Maria W EATHER 1858?1939 m. Charles Frederick ROSE in 1882.

6.Louisa EATHER 1860 ? 1860

7.Charles Olinzo EATHER b: 1864 d: 2 June 1949, Petersham. m. Emma Ellen OBORNE 1866-1943 at Penrith in 1886.


The Children of Charles EATHER 1825-1899 and Maria NORRIS 1844-1891:-

1.Annie EATHER 1867 ? 1867

2. Emily EATHER 1867 ?

3. Lavinia Eliza EATHER 1868 ? 1955

4. Frederick Charles EATHER 1872 ? m. Ellen RICE 1872-1938

5. Eva Louise EATHER 1881 ?

6. Ada Florence EATHER 1883 ? 1958

Joseph Onus was born in 1782 to Thomas Honess and Sarah (nee Field) at Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey (Thames Estuary), Kent and died at Richmond NSW on 22 June1835. He is buried at St Peters, Richmond.

Joseph was a labourer aged 19 and living at Sheerness, when, early in 1801, he was arrested. At the Lent Assizes on 16 March 1801, he was tried before Judge Baron Hotham and jury, on the charge of having stolen naval stores to the value of 5 pounds 17 shillings and 11 pence. He was sentenced to be hanged by the neck until he was dead.

He was obviously granted a reprieve, duly arriving in Sydney on the "Glatton" on 11 March 1803.
On 11 March 1810 he married Ann Eather 1793-1865 and had a family of six children.
He began his farming career with 25 acres on the river flats near Richmond. He rapidly prospered, and in about 1820, he built the fine two-storied house - now called the 'farmhouse - on the north side of Francis St, Richmond.

In the early 1820's his interests spread to the Hunter Valley, and in some of his ventures he worked in partnership with his wife's brother-in-law, Robert Williams. In December 1823, he sought a pass for 40 head of cattle of this partnership to go from the Hawkesbury to Benjamin Singleton's property on the Hunter River and from there selected land on the Woolombi Brook. On 12 August 1825, Joseoph Onus received Grant No. 225 of 1550 acres of riverflat land at Bulga. Williams was also granted 1000 acres adjacent. In 1826 the partners took cattle over the Liverpool Ranges establishing the property Boorambil on Onus Creek, a tributary of the Mooki River.

In 1832, they were forced off Boorambil when the famous Australian Agricultural Company was granted 600,000 acres of prime land. They were forced to move their stock onwards.

He took up several 'runs' particularly at Wollombi and in the Hunter Valley.

Thomas Eather, assisted by Joseph Onus's head stockman, John Bazley, is understood to have taken up three runs on thr Namoi River in 1833, namely, 'Hendriendi" for himself and brothers Charles and Robert; "Boggabri" for his brother-in-law, Robert Williams; and "Theribry" for another brother-in-law, Joseph Onus.


From The Eather Newsletter March 2001 No 152 Editorial. Editor Mildred Reynolds.
The following newspaper snippet reveals that Joseph Onus and the three men he was convicted with, spent about ten weeks in Maidstone Goal, and in Joseph's case, around 15 months on a hulk in Woolwich before being transported to New South Wales.

5th June 1801: "Early on Saturday morning the following convicts were conveyed by Mr Watson from Maidstone Goal under strong guard to Woolwich, and there put on board a hulk to remain till a vessel is prepared for their transportation to New South Wales." (Kentish Gazette)

The newspaper listed 25 convicts. Four of these men were - Joseph Oness, Jacob Inness, Joshua Appleton and Thomas Gibbons. (Joseph's name also appeared in the ship's indent of convicts as Joseph Onness.)

Joseph Onus was tried on the 16th March 1801, was transported to the colony on the "Glatton," which sailed from England on the 23rd September 1802. He arrived at Port Jackson on 11th March 1803.

Maidstone Goal was also the prison, which housed the pioneer, Thomas Heather/Eather.

***
From Eather Family Newsletter dated December 2002. Editor Mildred J Reynolds.
Police District of Wee Waa - Namoi District, 16th November 1854
Cattle brands supposed to have been stolen therefrom, October last.
Mr Joseph Onus - cattle on Murran Creek Station.
JO near rump, 22 near shoulder, top off near ear.
WS near rump, 7 on near shoulder, with a hole in near ear.
TO near shoulder, 22near rump, TO on near rump and 6 near shoulder
70 pounds reward to prosecute to conviction.

The above information obtained from the Victoria Police Gazette by the editor, shows that in 1854, Joseph Onus Junior was at (or also at) Murran Creek Station. The cattle branded WS would have belonged to William Sharp - his mother's second husband and the TO would have belonged to his brother, Thomas Onus, who at that time was married to Elizabeth Eather - a daughter of Thomas Eather Junior and his wife Sarah (nee McAlpin).


Joseph Onus b:1782 in Sheerness, Kent d:22 June 1835 Richmond New South Wales
Son of Thomas Honess b:1750 and Sarah Field b:1756
Married Ann Elizabeth Eather 1793-1865 at Windsor, New South Wales, on the 11 March 1810

Produced 6 children:-

1. Elizabeth Onus b: 1 January 1811 Windsor, NSW d:23 August 1882 Richmond, NSW m. John Gordon TOWN 1806-1883 on the 17 June 1830 at Windsor. The children of this marriage were:-
John Thomas Town 1831?1889 Elizabeth Jessie Town 1833?1908
William Barker Town 1836?1838 William Gordon Town 1838?1858
Mary Ann Town 1842 ? 1846
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2. Mary Ann ONUS b:14 August 1813 Windsor, NSW d:19 March 1887 Maryborough, Queensland. m. John EATON 1811-1804 at Windsor on 17 January 1831. The children of this marriage were:-

Mary M Eaton 1831 ? 1831
Charlotta Eaton 1844 ? 1923
Baby Eaton 1846 ? 1846
William Eaton 1847 ? 1887
Caroline Eaton 1850 ? 1850
Euphemia Eaton 1854 ? 1939
Veronica Eaton 1854 ? 1942
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3. Susannah ONUS b:28 October 1815 Cornwallis, NSW d: 12 August 1882, 'Glen Alpin' Bulga, NSW. m.William Glas MCALPIN 1810-1902 on the 1 February 1833 at Christ Church, Castlereagh, NSW.
The children of this marriage were:-
Elizabeth McAlpin 1833 ? 1835
Ann McAlpin 1836 ? 1838
Peter McAlpin 1838 ? 1838
William McAlpin 1840 ? 1923
Susannah McAlpin 1842 ? 1882
Sarah McAlpin 1845 ? 1922
Joseph McAlpin 1849 ? 1913
Mary McAlpin 1852 ? 1915
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4. Joseph ONUS b: 2 May 1818 Richmond, NSW and died 3 December 1895 Richmond, NSW. m.(1) Emma POWELL 1819-1865 on the 13 June 1837 at Richmond. The children of this marriage were:-
Mary Ann ONUS 1838 ? 1861
Joseph Edward ONUS 1840 ? 1891
Emma Susannah ONUS 1843 ? 1931
Joseph Tertius ONUS 1844 ? 1928
Laura Australia ONUS 1854 ? 1855
(2) Clara HUNT 1820-?? on the 28 May 1867at Richmond had one child Linda ONUS 1869 ? 1894
Joseph also had a relationship with Margaret SILK 1824-1884 she had one child to ONUS. Maria Emma SILK 1841 ? 1883
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5. Thomas ONUS b:29 April 1820 Richmond, NSW and died 28 March 1855 at Richmond, NSW. m. Elizabeth EATHER 1825-1884 on 22 August 1842 at St.Andrews Presbyterian, Windsor, NSW. The children of this marriage were:-
Ann Onus 1842 ? 1905
Sarah Onus 1845 ? 1910
Susannah Onus 1847 ? 1935
Thomas Alexander Onus 1849 ? 1934
Matilda J Onus 1852 ? 1853
Elizabeth A Onus 1854 ? 1855

Before his marriage Thomas ONUS had a relationship with Eliza JAMES 1819-1862 which produced a daughter Ann ONUS in 1841 hence his marriage in the Presbyterian Church after Rev. Henry STILES of the Church of England refused to marry him.
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6. William ONUS b: 3 September 1822, Richmond, NSW and died on 8 May 1855 at Richmond, NSW. m. Ann HOUGH 1822-1889 the daughter of Peter HOUGH 1776-1833 on 1 March 1882 at Richmond, NSW.
The children of this marriage were:-
Joseph Onus 1844 ? 1928
Elizabeth Onus 1848 ? 1892
Emily A. Onus 1851 ? 1907
Andrew Onus 1853 ? ??
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Credit for some of the above belongs to the Eather Family Newsletter of January 1976 and September 1998.