Stories

• WILLIAMSON Whittlesea, Victoria | 1909
  Mary Williamson aged 89 submitted the history of the dairy farm at Whittlesea  Vic. which she and husband Mervyn have owned and run since 1959. In 1919 her grandfather Aaron Cockcroft had purchased the property for the sum of £7.30 shillings per acre. In […]
• ATKINSON “Natone Hills” Burnie, Tasmania | 1901
  The barque Kingston docked in Hobart on 26 August 1854. On board were the Atkinson family, Thomas and his wife Eliza and their four children. They had left Terryglass in Tipperary Ireland in desperate economic circumstances and Thomas was indentured for […]
• WEGNER Wirrabara, South Australia | 1916
  Australian born of German farming stock, Maria Martha Edelgarde and Heinrich Carl Wilhelm Wegner purchased the original farm of 745 acres in 1916. Located in the mid north of South Australia, there would have been plenty to do regarding clearing land and […]
• CLEARY Smeaton, Victoria | 1877
  The Cleary farm near Smeaton ,Victoria was founded in 1877 by Irish immigrant Denis Cleary and his bride Ellen Doyle. It is today farmed by their great, great grandson Shaun. The highly productive mixed farm has a history of many different crops. The […]
• WARD “Erin’s Home” Bromelton, QLD | 1873
  Charles Corcoran of Irish farming stock left Montmellick, County Laois, Ireland on the sailing ship ‘Erin Go Bragh’ after the  potato famine had ravished the country. He arrived in Moreton Bay in 1862. Foregoing familiar farming, he went to […]
• POIDEVIN ‘Braemar’  Goulburn, New South Wales | 1921
  Unlike so many farming families who trace their history back to the United Kingdom and Ireland, this family’s story begins in the Channel Island of Guernsey. French national Pierre Le Poidevin, arrested by the English during the Napoleonic Wars […]
• BLAIR Proserpine, Queensland | 1919
  Alfred and his bride Wilhemina Blair commenced sugarcane farming in the North Gregory district in 1918. They farmed the total area of 45 acres, all of which was cleared by hand. In 1920 they built their home where they raised their five children Edward, […]
• BANFF “Clinton” Coominya, Queensland | 1880
  The Bond Room at Banff Brothers Clinton Winery, Coominya Queensland circa early 1900. Pictured: Henry, and John Banff left and on the right Mr Serisier, who was both winemaker and Excise Officer. Brandy was stored in the Bond Room and only Mr.Serisier […]
• BRANSON Titchmarsh, Alma, South Australia 1876
  The Branson family left Titchmarsh, Northamptonshire and made the perilous sea journey to South Australia. Purchasing several blocks of land on the rolling plains north of Adelaide in 1876. Still later this land near Stockton was traded in 1898 for other […]
• DEERAN Woodlawn, Bromelton Queensland | 1873
  James Deeran Jnr.  born in the Province of Leister, Eire, 1849, and was part of the vast migration out of Ireland post the Great Famine. Escaping hunger and dire poverty, 1.5 million Irish citizens sailed to other lands hoping for a better future. In […]
• FRENCH Gilberton Station, Einasleigh, Queensland 1869
  The story of Gilberton Station is a tale of three interwoven cultures, European, Aboriginal and to a lesser extent that of the Chinese. Tom and Lydia Martel were the founders of Gilberton circa 1869 they acquired the property more or less by squatting, […]
• HOARE Chocolate Hills Dingo, Queensland |1916
  Purchased in May 1916 for 12 pounds 12 shillings 11pence by the current owner’s father, making this a rare century station with a history of only 2 generations. Alf Hoare set about bringing his land into production,and named it Chocolate Hills. Along […]
• PALTRIDGE Minniecrow, Lucindale South Australia |1902
  A late 19th Century presence in the SE of the state led to the purchase of land and the establishment of Minniecrow in 1902. The farm produces lamb and wool. […]
• REARDON Roseglen, Collector NSW | 1854
  Patrick Reardon was convicted of killing Patrick Berrigan on the 12 Dec 1830 in a rock throwing incident. Sentenced to transportation, he left on the “Norfolk” in August 1831 to serve a 7 yr sentence in Australia.Tucked away in his meagre […]
• EVANS Tambua Station Cobar NSW | 1914
  Founding father George Knight acquired the property in 1914 and was at first engaged in mining in addition to producing merino wool. The original homestead and shearing shed are still in use today , and the station is run by George’s great great […]
• GLASS Redlands Allens Flat, Victoria | 1856
  Jesse Glass, the original owner of the family farm, acquired his land circa 1856. He had arrived from Wiltshire UK, and initially earned a tidy living growing vegetables and producing meat for the local gold miners. Timber was also cut and sold to fuel […]
• FOLEY Fairview Cullerin NSW 2581 | 1845
  Founding father Patrick Foley emigrated from Ireland in January 1841. He found employment at the Sydney Gazette for 4 years before moving inland to purchase 300 acres at Cullerin near Collector in1845. Fairview is now stewarded by Patrick’s great great […]
• WARWICK Holowiliena South Station, via Cradock South Australia | 1853
  William Warwick emigrated from Dumfries Scottland and settled on the property in 1853. He is listed on the ship’s manifest as a blacksmith, though by all accounts his family had a long history of farming in Scotland. Today Holowiliena is run by William’s […]
• SHERIDAN Dunroamin Collector NSW   |   1862.
  Original owner John Sheridan an immigrant from County Kildare, Ireland, purchased 40 acres close to the village of Collector in 1862. He paid the sum of 64 pounds 10 shillings for his new farm which became home to wife Lovey and their 11 children. The […]
• WYE Yetambah Nyngan, NSW | 1917
  The Wye  family story began in 1917 when Sidney Wye took up a 2227 ha, a Soldier Settler block .Sidney had returned from World War I service having been wounded at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli on April 25, 1915 .Yetamba, producing livestock and grain, is now […]
• CREED Langmore Station, Raglan Queensland | 1868
  Langmore Station was purchased by Thomas and George Creed on August 10, 1868 and iconic Queenslander homestead still proudly standing was built of light local timber in 1873. The Aborigines nicknamed the area the “valley of the giants” as the […]
• HENERY Alpana Station Blinman ,South Australia | 1878
  Alpana  Station in the heart of the Flinders Ranges, S.A. has been owned and managed by the Henery family for six generations. The name Alpana came from the Adnyamathanha people acknowledged as the original custodians of the land. Paddy Henery , born in […]