Hello family & others interested,
I hope this finds you all well.
There is a lot of information here in this really big edition, including some Hodges material.
Most of this instalment comes from a trip made to the Central West in Jan 2016 and updates since. Sorry for the delay in getting it out. Rather than emailing, I thought this was the simplest way to post updates so the linked videos can easily be seen.
Some videos contain coordinates which you can enter directly into Google Earth, if you’re familiar with it and if you’re keen, so you can see the exact location of various places of historical significance.
All the best,
Matt (Tel 0411 103 302)
Kevin Toole
Kevin Toole passed away in October last year. He was a wool-classer and the author of “The Annals of Burraga”, a book detailing many aspects of pioneering Burraga life from publicly available information. The book was compiled for the centenary of the Burraga Public School and published in 1982.
I spent some time with him more than a year ago at his home in Bathurst and he was able to shed much light on various locations in Burraga (the old cemetery on Buckburraga, the location of Travellers’ Flat where Beatrice was born, the location of original roads, the location of the house where the Ryan family lived in Burraga and so on).
He was close to his grandfather (Edward Toole) and remembered his stories of the early years. Edward Toole lived in Burraga at the same time Michael Ryan lived there. During our conversation he pointed to the location of some plum trees, still standing, which were by the house where the Ryan family lived after Michael received his 40 acre land grant. Not a bad memory for someone who hadn’t been back to Burraga for some thirty years.
Kevin Toole, author of The Annals of Burraga
I’ve not been able to locate the plum trees, (mostly because I’ve never looked), until this most recent visit. And there they were, just where Kevin said they were. I’ve collected a leaf for everyone if you’re interested. The “new” road cuts through where the house/shack once stood, and the trees are up an embankment. In all likelihood they were probably planted by Michael himself or one of his sons.
Without having had the opportunity to meet and chat with Kevin Toole, most of the detail of the Ryan/Hall presence in Burraga would be vague and fuzzy. His local knowledge and remarkable memory has brought a lot of the places of our history into sharp focus and given poignancy to our family places in the Burraga area.
How did I find out about his death?
Well, therein lies a strange coincidence. I was in Rockley, between Bathurst and Burraga, filming the foundation stone of the old town hall, which is now a private house. The stone has the name of one of the Hackney brothers on it who owned Buckburraga property where Michael is buried. The town hall is a private home now and, out of courtesy, thought I’d better knock on the door to see if it was ok to film. The lady who answered the door told me of Kevin Toole’s death. She found out about it by accident – she drove past the wake in his front yard. She revealed that she and her husband had bought the property Fairfield from Kevin. The lower part of Fairfield was owned by John Hall before being sold to Thomas Hackney and then onto Edward Toole, Kevin’s grandfather.
John Hall, a ship’s carpenter from Stalybridge (UK), married Ellen Ryan, Michael Ryan’s eldest daughter. The paddock of 40 acres, now part of the larger property Fairfield, is where John and Ellen settled and is still known as Hall’s Paddock to this day! It was here that the Hall brothers were born.
Cemetery News
Ann Lynagh’s Grave
Ann Lynagh married John Hodges. Both worked at Brucedale, near Peel, on the way from Bathurst to Sofala. They probably met at Brucedale. There are now many thousands of descendants from that union.
Ann Lynagh’s grave is sitting pretty in Bathurst Cemetery complete with a small headstone marked by husband John. It was the first time I’d seen it.
Ann (Hodges) Lynagh’s headstone and location within Bathurst Cemetery
Ann Lynagh’s name is also recorded on the glass memorial to the Irish Immigrant Orphan’s at Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney where she spent her first nights in Australia. She was Irish, but not an orphan.
Re-creation of hostel conditions for immigrant orphans at Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney
Checklist of items issued to Irish orphan immigrants before embarkation to Australia
Charles Henry Hall’s Grave
There has been a bit of a problem with the grave of Charles Henry Hall in Bathurst Cemetery. The age at death marked on the headstone is ten years out from his actual age, so there was always a question in my mind whether this was the correct Charlie Hall. (Charlie Hall lived with Beatrice in Greek St, now Commonwealth St, in Bathurst. Charlie had Beatrice committed to Bloomfield).
I was able to get access to info on the Bathurst Cemetery computer during my last visit…. stuff which is not available even from family history records at the Bathurst Library. On looking up Charlie’s listing there were some notes made on file… that confirmed this grave is ‘our’ Charlie Hall.
His address on the computer file was Greek Street, and a notation was made that it was his brother’s grave; which one wasn’t identified. I’ve found out which funeral director did the funeral. It was service held at the funeral parlour which merged with another larger one years later. The original funeral parlour is now a hair dressing salon, but no records exist of from the earlier operator.
Charlie’s headstone reads “In Loving Memory of…”. Charlie never married so I’m keen to find out who organised the headstone. Charlie probably had a dollar or two, given that he had a headstone and owned a car when ownership was rare. Cannot find any evidence for a will or probate for Charlie as there may be some clues in there but will keep looking.
Hodges Graves at Wattle Flat Cemetery
Usually I take some weed killer up and spray around any family graves I come across. However, someone recently has gone a step further. They’ve put plastic sheeting down and covered the sheeting in white pebbles. This was done to John Hodges grave and his son, William Henry, nearby. I heard that a Hodges descendent had moved to Wattle Flat recently. They only found out they about their relation to the family after settling in Wattle Flat. Maybe it was this descendant who dressed the graves up. The load of white pebbles would be inconvenient to transport too far.
Pictures of the Hodges graves follow toward the end.
Other News
Sid Hodges Butcher Shop
Located in Wattle Flat with a heritage order on it, the shop is now no more. Sadly, it was hit by a car, and has subsequently, (after the photograph below was taken), been demolished. The toilet out the back, which has had a lean approximating 45° for several years now, continues to stand against the ravages of time: a testament to its builder.
I always thought the butcher shop would outlive the dunny (rear)
The block is currently owned by the local real estate agent and is for sale. Apparently the large chopping block which was located within the shop has been passed on to a Wattle Flat resident/descendent of the Hodges line.
This was Sid’s enamel wash bowl found amongst the rubble on the site. I used it myself when we stayed with Sid on a trip to Wattle Flat with dad in May of 1974. I recall the water left in the bottom of the bowl was frozen solid when we came to wash the following morning, as was the water in the pipe that led from the water tank.
Brucedale Visit
I met with David Suttor, sixth generation farmer on the property Brucedale just near Peel. This Suttor family on Brucedale have been recognised as running the oldest, continuously run, family business in Australia. The farm appeared on the SBS televised documentary The First Australians.
This is the place John Hodges and Ann Lynagh met and lived before moving to various propertied up the Wiagdon Valley to settle eventually in Wattle Flat.
The property is also famous for caring for the grave of Windradyne, the Wyradjuri Aboriginal leader who died in the 1823-4 Bathurst Wars.
He was a great mate of George Suttor who bothered to learn the Wyradjuri language. As a result the Suttor family was spared during the 1823-4 wars. There was a well documented aboriginal massacre at Millah Murrah, a property just up the road and possibly Clear Creek and Bell’s Falls as well, all in fairly close proximity.
The original homestead is long gone, being right next to the river on the flood plains. However there are pear trees there which were planted when the property was first established. These would be some of the oldest, if not the oldest, pear trees in Australia.
The Suttor family today live in the homestead that dates to the period when John and Ann met. The outbuildings are still there in various states of preservation. There was quite a large population living on the farm. It was like a town itself housing a few shops and a school. John had a butchery there as far as records suggest.
The early records from Brucedale have been donated to the Mitchell library so when I get some time I’ll pay them a visit and see what there is to find. I’ll be looking for employment records or even some photographs if they exist.
It’s interesting that, when you drive around old properties, almost always the fruit trees have survived when the houses and sheds and humpys have all disintegrated. Clumps of fruit trees usually indicate where a family once made a home.
There are still some scattered remnants of shepherd’s huts on Brucedale.
Brother & Sister Immigrants – Michael & Judith Ryan
Michael, the first Ryan of our line to immigrate to Australia, came from Borris, County Carlow, with his sister. Both travelled on the same ship. Michael married in Sydney and both moved down to the Goulburn area. Michael was shepherding on a property owned by William Bradley at one time and settled on Bradley’s Hill, a common, and still a common today, just south of Goulburn.
Judith married a Thomas Garret and moved to Tarlo just north east of Goulburn on the Taralga Road. She is recorded as having a child, Sarah, with Thomas.
I cant find any further info on Judith, Thomas or their child Sarah; they disappear from the record.
Bradley’s Hill
Bradley’s Hill is located just south of Goulburn and is visible on the right of the freeway when approaching Goulburn from the south. It is public land today. It may have always been a common. It is named because it was the highest point in a swathe of land owned by William Bradley.
For a time Michael Ryan was a shepherd living on Bradley’s Hill, having moved here after marrying Eliza Hourigan at St Mary’s Church in Sydney. Their first born, Ellen Ryan, was born on Bradley’s Hill. Louisa South, (a half-caste Aboriginal girl) delivered most of Ellen’s children, and Ellen delivered the children Louisa had with Michael after Eliza was no longer on the scene.
Ellen features prominently in early family history. It was she who took the Hackneys to court over what she perceived as a price for Michael’s land in Burraga short of what it was worth. For a short time Ellen stayed at the Family Hotel in Bathurst.
There are very old fruit trees still present on the top of the Bradley’s Hill, evidence that this was once a settled area.
Here is a video of Bradley’s Hill today:
Leighwood
After leaving Bradley’s Hill, Michael Ryan moved with his family northward from Goulburn. He worked for a while at Redbank and then settled for awhile at Leighwood, a property on Boree Creek, a short drive out from Taralga. It was here that Sarah was born (to Louisa South). One of Louisa’s records has her being born at Richlands, a large property owned by the Macarthur brothers, and said to be one of the largest land holdings in the early colonial years. Richlands is a relatively short distance from Leighwood. It is probable that Louisa South joined the Ryan family around this time and continued travelling north with them. (On occasion, Louisa used the name Louisa Lowe, which may be an indicator of who her father was or the possibly the name of the land-owner where she once lived).
Sarah died as a child on Cockatoo Island at around 11 years of age, having been incarcerated there for only three months. Her ‘crime’ was that she went “rambling”. The fact that her mother was a half-caste Aboriginal was noted in the registry and this may have provided some justification for the authorities to place her there.
The main homestead at Leighwood is currently undergoing repair.
Leighwood homestead on the Burra Burra Creek (previously Boree Creek)
Buckburraga Station Cemetery
This is the old cemetery, now disused. It is on the Buckburraga Station and is relatively inaccessible. Michael Ryan the elder and his son, also Michael, are buried here, along with neighbours and probably other relations of Michael as well.
Visible from the Rockley-Burraga Road, the following video shows the cemetery from a unique perspective.
Some graves are visible, those made from stone. However, most would have had only wooden crosses or markers which have been flattened by generations of kangaroos and cattle tramping through the cemetery paddock.
Travellers’ Flat
Michael Ryan lived here for some years when he first came to the Burraga district. Bridget Beatrice Ryan, our great grandmother, was born here. There was a settlement of several families on this paddock, and, unlike today, Traveller’s Flat, though never registered as a geographic name, was a recognised locality.
Hall’s Paddock
This is a 40 acre block once owned by John Hall, who married Ellen Ryan, Michael’s first born. John and Ellen were the parents of 5 children, amongst them Charlie Hall who lived with Beatrice in Bathurst at the time of her committal to Bloomfield. Hall’s Paddock is now part of the lower end of the property Fairfield on the Campbell’s River Road, north east of Michael Ryan’s block.
Martin Ryan, one of Beatrice’s elder brothers, owned a 30 acre block to the north-west of Hall’s paddock.
Michael Ryan’s Block
This is part of the 40 acre block which may have been a grant to Michael Ryan. Visible in the video is the large dam which was once a brick pit producing clay bricks for the copper smelter not far away. It is possible that one of Michael’s sons, Martin, worked the brick pit. His occupation at the time of his death was brick-maker.
Michael Ryan’s original 40 acre block by the Arkstone Road just east of Burraga
Also visible are the plum trees which the Ryan family would have lived off. These are the oldest living link to the Ryan family in Australia. In all likelihood they would have been planted by Michael himself. At this time land grants were given to pioneers who took it upon themselves to make improvements to crown land. The road is new (having been moved there in the last 80 years or so). The new road may have cut through, or near to, the site of the original home. By chance the trees were saved from the bulldozer. The original plum trees, as identified by Kevin Toole are visible. It was Kevin who identified this as the location where a Ryan family lived. This correlates exactly with our branch, as it is precisely on one of the boundaries of land registered in the name of our Michael Ryan. The trees have had many offspring, (of a younger age), that grow widely on the embankment beside the road. This is quite a significant place in our history.
If you pass down the “new road” today – the Arkstone Road – you are literally driving through his property. In 1978 or so I went camping with my father on the nearby Isabella River and we did exactly this – neither of us aware of the significance of the land we were passing through.
Michael lived on this block for the last two years of his life. He sold it to one of the Hackney brothers who owned Buckburraga Station. He died the same day he signed the deed of sale. His death certificate states that he was ill for the previous 9 days.
Burraga District centered on Michael Ryan’s Block
From an altitude of 500 metres directly above the site where Michael lived much family history can be realised. Looking east, the paddock known as Traveller’s Flat can be just made out. Looking north east, Hall’s Paddock can be seen. Looking north-west Buckburraga Station can be seen. Burraga township is to the west, and the property Jeremy, where the younger Michael Ryan died, is to the south.
Bill Ryan
Bill’s ashes were recently scattered at the Wattle Flat Racecourse and in the cemetery behind the catholic church where those of his sister, Betty, are also scattered. Some ashes were also scattered on the graves of his Hodges forebears, William Henry and John.
Barry Stephenson, Terry Riley, Billy Smith, Chris Leschke, Shanyn Smith, Phillip Ryan, Kym Leschke & a young Cooper Smith near Wattle Flat Racecourse
Chris Leschke, Phillip Ryan, Shanyn Smith and Cooper Smith at the grave of Cooper’s great, great, great, great grandfather
Grave of John Hodges and daughter Elizabeth Turley. John is great x 5 grandfather to young Cooper. (Both graves have recently had a makeover, perhaps from a descendant living locally).
Ends
borrisboy 