Laraine, John Willoughby, son of John Willoughby & Charlotte Wood, was born 18 February 1853 in Wilberforce, NSW, and died 20 May 1905 in Sydney, NSW. He married Anastasia Crawford 11 December 1882 in West Bourke, daughter of James Crawford and Frances Magee. She was born 7 February 1868 at 'Bucka Bucka Station', Mara Creek, NSW, and died 13 June 1944 in Sydney, NSW. Both are buried in the Anglican section of the Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney. Yes the year of birth is correct even I had to question it and have it rechecked. Anastasia was only 14 & 10mths old when she married John and he was 29 & 10mths, twice her age. Her sister Mary Ann married John's brother Thomas Albert Willoughby. Thomas was born 3 December 1854 in Windsor, NSW and died 25 April 1925 in Surry Hills, NSW. He married Mary Ann Crawford 13 February 1882 in West Bourke, NSW, daughter of James Crawford and Frances Magee. She was born Abt. 1865 in NSW and died 5 July 1950 in Annandale, NSW. My husband is a direct descendant of Charles Edward Willoughby, another brother of John & Thomas. Charles Edward Willoughby was born 27 September 1861 in 'Euring-ga-Nearing', Castlereagh River, NSW and died ?? possibly Queensland. He married Rose Anna Newton 2 July 1884 in Church of England, West Bourke, NSW, daughter of Solomon 'Charles' Newton and Honora McCarthy. She was born 26 May 1866 in Bourke, and died 25 February 1915 in Nyngan, NSW. Their daughter Ada Willoughby married Constable William Francis Mills November 4th 1917 in Sydney. Ada & William are my husband's grandparents. Regards Annette Mills From: K & L Goodworth [mailto:kelm@ozemail.com.au] Sent: Saturday, 21 August 2004 8:47 PM To: AUS-NSW-WEST-L@rootsweb.com Subject: RE: [NSW-W] Warraweena Stn near Bourke - APPS & TULLY Hi listers I have John Willoughby at Warraweena Run in 1903. 1 John Willoughby b: Abt. 1868 Electoral Roll: 1903 Warraweena Run, NSW Roll 42 Div. Darling +Anastasia Crawford b: 1868 in Bourke, NSW reg no 5656 m: 1882 in Bourke, NSW reg no 3773 d: 1944 in Chatswood, NSW reg no 8456 Electoral Roll: 1903 North Bourke Roll 95 Div. Darling. Cheers, Laraine -----Original Message----- From: Rebel [mailto:rebel14@iinet.net.au] Sent: Friday, 13 August 2004 10:29 AM To: AUS-NSW-WEST-L@rootsweb.com Subject: RE: [NSW-W] Warraweena Stn near Bourke - APPS & TULLY Hi Jill Have you checked with Ann at the Bourke Library for information on Warraweena Stn. Also are your Warmolls connected to the North Bourke Hotel. Maggi Perth Western Australia Hi Tony Great to see you on the list again. You've been quiet lately. I think I sent you a couple of pages on River Notes which had a little hand drawn map and a few mentions of Warraweena. If not, let me know and I will send them to you. I am looking at another map from the History of Bourke. It has Warraweena as an overall property and within it, Artesia, Glengeera, Farlands, Warrella Plains, Kanimbla, the Lagoon, Prairie, Gumbooka, Warraweena, Lilfield, Marion Downs. I am presuming this is a map of the early run Warraweena and then broken up into holdings. Would this be right? Also found in 1 1997 edition of History of Bourke, reference toa Jack Joynes who was writing an autobiography of his experiences on Corella-Warraweena Stations from about 1939-1952. Probably too late for you, and no contact details, but an unusual name. In 1899 Henry MOXHAM, my ancestor had the Grass Hut Hotel at Dry Lake and from 1905-1921 the WARMOLLS my other ancestors had the Warraweena or Dry Lake Hotel. If I find any more trivia, I will let you know. Cheers Jill Subject: [NSW-W] Warraweena Stn near Bourke - APPS & TULLY ==== AUS-NSW-WEST Mailing List ==== The List-admin for this list can be contacted by e-mailing AUS-NSW-WEST-admin@rootsweb.com ______________________________

Laraine are the Willoughbys of interest to you. They are a well known family in Bourke> ----- Original Message ----- From: "K & L Goodworth" <kelm@ozemail.com.au> To: <AUS-NSW-WEST-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, 21 August 2004 8:47 PM Subject: RE: [NSW-W] Warraweena Stn near Bourke - APPS & TULLY > Hi listers > > I have John Willoughby at Warraweena Run in 1903. > > > 1 John Willoughby b: Abt. 1868 Electoral Roll: 1903 Warraweena Run, NSW > Roll 42 Div. Darling > +Anastasia Crawford b: 1868 in Bourke, NSW reg no 5656 m: 1882 in Bourke, > NSW reg no 3773 d: 1944 in Chatswood, NSW reg no 8456 Electoral Roll: 1903 > North Bourke Roll 95 Div. Darling. > \

Hi listers I have John Willoughby at Warraweena Run in 1903. 1 John Willoughby b: Abt. 1868 Electoral Roll: 1903 Warraweena Run, NSW Roll 42 Div. Darling +Anastasia Crawford b: 1868 in Bourke, NSW reg no 5656 m: 1882 in Bourke, NSW reg no 3773 d: 1944 in Chatswood, NSW reg no 8456 Electoral Roll: 1903 North Bourke Roll 95 Div. Darling. Cheers, Laraine -----Original Message----- From: Rebel [mailto:rebel14@iinet.net.au] Sent: Friday, 13 August 2004 10:29 AM To: AUS-NSW-WEST-L@rootsweb.com Subject: RE: [NSW-W] Warraweena Stn near Bourke - APPS & TULLY Hi Jill Have you checked with Ann at the Bourke Library for information on Warraweena Stn. Also are your Warmolls connected to the North Bourke Hotel. Maggi Perth Western Australia Hi Tony Great to see you on the list again. You've been quiet lately. I think I sent you a couple of pages on River Notes which had a little hand drawn map and a few mentions of Warraweena. If not, let me know and I will send them to you. I am looking at another map from the History of Bourke. It has Warraweena as an overall property and within it, Artesia, Glengeera, Farlands, Warrella Plains, Kanimbla, the Lagoon, Prairie, Gumbooka, Warraweena, Lilfield, Marion Downs. I am presuming this is a map of the early run Warraweena and then broken up into holdings. Would this be right? Also found in 1 1997 edition of History of Bourke, reference toa Jack Joynes who was writing an autobiography of his experiences on Corella-Warraweena Stations from about 1939-1952. Probably too late for you, and no contact details, but an unusual name. In 1899 Henry MOXHAM, my ancestor had the Grass Hut Hotel at Dry Lake and from 1905-1921 the WARMOLLS my other ancestors had the Warraweena or Dry Lake Hotel. If I find any more trivia, I will let you know. Cheers Jill Subject: [NSW-W] Warraweena Stn near Bourke - APPS & TULLY ==== AUS-NSW-WEST Mailing List ==== The List-admin for this list can be contacted by e-mailing AUS-NSW-WEST-admin@rootsweb.com

Yes A family named Day used to live in Dubbo. 120 Darling Street. A Jim Day married Irene (Ruby) Oxley. They had two children Gary deceased about 1960 he was killed working on a construction site. Beryl she married but i do not know her maiden name. My mother was Ruby great friend John Mason ----- Original Message ----- From: Dawn Geddes <dawngeddes@bigpond.com> Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 10:08 pm Subject: [NSW-W] Listing an interest in Day > I have reason to believe there may be Days living/lived in the > West/CentralWest. > > Any information greatly appreciated. > > Dawn Geddes, Sydney > Researching Muddle, Andrews, Day and Geddes. > > > > ==== AUS-NSW-WEST Mailing List ==== > This list is set that so, by default, replies to messages go to > the whole list. Please feel free to send replies to the list where > you think they would be of interest to the whole list, but if it > is only personal chat back and forth, please send messages just > between the parties involved. > >

I have reason to believe there may be Days living/lived in the West/Central West. Any information greatly appreciated. Dawn Geddes, Sydney Researching Muddle, Andrews, Day and Geddes.

Dear Dawn, If you try http://www.whitepages.com.au just as an example, put ....... day ...... bourke you will see where all the present ones are in the central west There's only 44 listings, so take your pick........ Even way back in 1872 there were plenty. Here is the list of all the western towns towns: http://www.family.joint.net.au/content.php?mid=1 Here is where you search by surname: http://www.family.joint.net.au/content.php?mid=1&cid=296 There are 45 towns for ANDREWS 34 towns for DAY 7 towns for GEDDES 4 towns for MUDDLE I don't mean to be difficult, but you need to give more hints PLEASE Cheers, Tony Moore (Balgo, Western Australia) @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ On 17 Aug 2004 at 22:08, Dawn Geddes wrote: > I have reason to believe there may be Days living/lived in the West/Central > West. > > Any information greatly appreciated. > > Dawn Geddes, Sydney > Researching Muddle, Andrews, Day and Geddes. > > > > ==== AUS-NSW-WEST Mailing List ==== > This list is set that so, by default, replies to messages go to the whole list.

Hi List Rusheen alerted me to a recently published book "Back on the Wool Track" by the political commentator, Michelle Grattan. Naturally, I raced out and bought a copy. For any of you collecting literature on the West, it's a book well worth having. Grattan first discusses CEW Bean, war historian and journalist, and author of "On the Wool Track" and "Dreadnought of the Darling", both wonderful evocative descriptions of the West in the early twentieth century, which I am sure many of you have read. (If you haven't, borrow them through inter library loan from your local library). Grattan then takes some of the stories and places which Bean visited and visits herself. She give the historical perspective - how Bean saw it - then a modern take - how she sees it today. It's a very interesting and easy read - I zoomed through it. The style is quite different to Bean's - modern reportage uses economical language whereas in the Bean books I could smell and see and imagine the countryside from his descriptions. I wonder why writing styles have changed so much? Also Bean seemed enchanted with the landscape, in much the same way as our own ancestors were enchanted with the West. Grattan's book is far more matter of fact and reflective of the more pragmatic approach to their environment of today's western dwellers perhaps. The poets and adventurers seem to have departed. Contrast Bean: "Man, the raw white man, his sheep and his rabbit were let loose upon a land on which a million years of freedom had stored a great forest of slender Australian shrubs and a great carpet of delicate Australian grass." with Grattan: "With the overwhelming majority of Australia's cotton growing happening in the catchment of the Darling and its tributaries, the sceptics are not convinced and say that country like Bourke should not be used for such a water intensive drop". Somehow Bean captured the essence of the West and its appeal to our forbears. We can see why they made and lost fortunes, and what drove them to inhabit this wild and wonderful place. That magic is somehow missing from Grattan's book. Nevertheless it's a good read and a useful resource visiting many of the towns of the west - Bourke, Brewarrina, Ivanhoe, Wilcannia, White Cliffs, Louth, Broken Hill, Menindee, Mossgiel, Roto - and I'd recommend it for that alone. Also it's a rare look at this once vital region, and the more information we, who have an interest in the area can have access to, the better for us. Cheers, Jill PS If anyone knows the whereabouts of copies of Bean's books, I'd love to buy them.

As we have been discussing various coaching lines including Cobb and Co, I thought some of you might be interested in the ABC's landline report on Cobb and Co. It relates to western Queensland, rather than our area, but has some interesting facts. Here is the link. http://www.abc.net.au/landline/content/2004/s1174763.htm Cheers Jill

Dear Friends, I have taken the big plunge into the muddy waters of a free web site to put up some photos that I would appreciate people looking at. I hope you can help identify people, places and probable time frames. All the photos I expect would be taken in the early 1900's, probably before 1930. If you're avid car enthusiast, you'll have a field day. All the photos are displayed courtesy of yahoo-geocities. The three pages that have photos are all linked to: http://www.geocities.com/tonymoore51 After opening each page, click on the photo for an enlargement. Any help, no matter how small would be appreciated. You can e-mail me privately if you wish, but each person's comments can lead to others and then a consensus. Thanks in advance for any help, Tony Moore (Balgo, Westwern Australia)

Dear Jim, I ventured out into the unknown last light and registered as a yahoo- geocities user. I have never done anything like that before. I couldn't stop myself. By 1am I had put 3 photos of Warraweena and 1 of my APPS family on my first ever web site: http://www.geocities.com/tonymoore51 Click on Warraweena homestead. Then, after it loads, click on the pictures for enlargements. The original photos that I scanned were so tiny, about 8cm x 5cm , and it was not until they came to life on a computer screen that their true wealth was revealed. I would think that the original huge station had many houses scattered about. It wouldn't surprise me if this wasn't the main homestead. Although I visited Bre, Bourke and Goodooga for the first time in 2000 I never looked for Warraweena. I was more interested to find "Mogila" at Goodooga, some of the bridges that great grandfather built in the 1870's and 1880's (which are still standing) plus the graves of himself and wife in the Goodooga cemetery. I took my Dad with me then. It was only the second time he had gone back there since 1930 when his parents moved to Sydney. Jim, if you find that the buildings in the photos are actually on "another" station and not the original Warraweena, please let me know. I won't be offended. Looking forward to hearing from you, Tony Moore @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ On 12 Aug 2004 at 17:58, JIM FISHER wrote: > Interesting to see Warraweena mentioned on the list as the property that my Dad owned, and I grew up on, BUNNAWANNA, was part of the old Warraweena station before it was broken up. Dad drew it as a Soldiers Settlers block just after WWII and we lived there 'till 1963. Bunnawanna is located on the eastern edge of the old original holding, our next door neighbors to the west were Lillyfield and Marion Downs. The address was actually Brewarrina as we were closer to it than to bourke. (Since Bunnawanna itself was 25,000 acres I imagine that the original Warraweena must have been huge.) Regards, > Jim Fisher > ----- Original Message ----- > From: AUS-NSW-WEST-D-request@rootsweb.com > To: AUS-NSW-WEST-D@rootsweb.com > Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2004 5:00 PM > Subject: AUS-NSW-WEST-D Digest V04 #97 > > > > ==== AUS-NSW-WEST Mailing List ==== > Have you registered your surnames on the NSW-WEST home page??? Go to http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~surreal/NSWW/ and from there to Surnames for further details. >

Hi Jill Have you checked with Ann at the Bourke Library for information on Warraweena Stn. Also are your Warmolls connected to the North Bourke Hotel. Maggi Perth Western Australia Hi Tony Great to see you on the list again. You've been quiet lately. I think I sent you a couple of pages on River Notes which had a little hand drawn map and a few mentions of Warraweena. If not, let me know and I will send them to you. I am looking at another map from the History of Bourke. It has Warraweena as an overall property and within it, Artesia, Glengeera, Farlands, Warrella Plains, Kanimbla, the Lagoon, Prairie, Gumbooka, Warraweena, Lilfield, Marion Downs. I am presuming this is a map of the early run Warraweena and then broken up into holdings. Would this be right? Also found in 1 1997 edition of History of Bourke, reference toa Jack Joynes who was writing an autobiography of his experiences on Corella-Warraweena Stations from about 1939-1952. Probably too late for you, and no contact details, but an unusual name. In 1899 Henry MOXHAM, my ancestor had the Grass Hut Hotel at Dry Lake and from 1905-1921 the WARMOLLS my other ancestors had the Warraweena or Dry Lake Hotel. If I find any more trivia, I will let you know. Cheers Jill Subject: [NSW-W] Warraweena Stn near Bourke - APPS & TULLY

Interesting to see Warraweena mentioned on the list as the property that my Dad owned, and I grew up on, BUNNAWANNA, was part of the old Warraweena station before it was broken up. Dad drew it as a Soldiers Settlers block just after WWII and we lived there 'till 1963. Bunnawanna is located on the eastern edge of the old original holding, our next door neighbors to the west were Lillyfield and Marion Downs. The address was actually Brewarrina as we were closer to it than to bourke. (Since Bunnawanna itself was 25,000 acres I imagine that the original Warraweena must have been huge.) Regards, Jim Fisher ----- Original Message ----- From: AUS-NSW-WEST-D-request@rootsweb.com To: AUS-NSW-WEST-D@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2004 5:00 PM Subject: AUS-NSW-WEST-D Digest V04 #97

Hi Tony Great to see you on the list again. You've been quiet lately. I think I sent you a couple of pages on River Notes which had a little hand drawn map and a few mentions of Warraweena. If not, let me know and I will send them to you. I am looking at another map from the History of Bourke. It has Warraweena as an overall property and within it, Artesia, Glengeera, Farlands, Warrella Plains, Kanimbla, the Lagoon, Prairie, Gumbooka, Warraweena, Lilfield, Marion Downs. I am presuming this is a map of the early run Warraweena and then broken up into holdings. Would this be right? Also found in 1 1997 edition of History of Bourke, reference toa Jack Joynes who was writing an autobiography of his experiences on Corella-Warraweena Stations from about 1939-1952. Probably too late for you, and no contact details, but an unusual name. In 1899 Henry MOXHAM, my ancestor had the Grass Hut Hotel at Dry Lake and from 1905-1921 the WARMOLLS my other ancestors had the Warraweena or Dry Lake Hotel. If I find any more trivia, I will let you know. Cheers Jill Subject: [NSW-W] Warraweena Stn near Bourke - APPS & TULLY

Thanks Judy. I'll blame you for my gambling problem should I ever get involved. Just one thing - when I said that the race, one and a half or two miles, was a long distance, I should have added that the rellies on the same horse would do three races on the one day. I must get around to looking into it properly. One of them ended up with their own colours and a trainer (verified), and supposedly came second in the Australian Cup (the precursor of the Melbourne Cup) with UKI; another horse, Simple Jim, was said to have won in Adelaide. Have to see if this matches with the facts. Regards ...........Rusheen. > From: "Judy Meibusch" <raigmore@cnnet.com.au> > Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2004 09:20:39 +1000 > To: "Rusheen Craig" <rusheen@optusnet.com.au>, <AUS-NSW-WEST-L@rootsweb.com> > Subject: Re: Wentworth's first Race Meeting - Help with terminology. > > Would love to see any replies posted to the list!

Would love to see any replies posted to the list! The only one I know is the Walkover...designed to stop a single entrant doing just that...walking around the course! I would imagine second prize would mean collecting all the entrance money for the race (could be pretty good!) Weight for age is as in todays terminology...graduated weights younger to older horses & colts carrying heavier than mares. The winning "Plate" would probably be something very substantial...most of the older trophies were sterling silver or gilded! 2 miles is Melbourne cup distance and fairly common then for a major race. Rusheen your rellies would have done VERY well that day! Judy Qld ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rusheen Craig" <rusheen@optusnet.com.au> To: <AUS-NSW-WEST-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, August 07, 2004 5:22 PM Subject: Wentworth's first Race Meeting - Help with terminology. > Wentworth held its first Race Meeting on 1st and 2nd January, 1861. > Could someone help me to understand the terms used: > > FIRST DAY > Wentworth Plate:- Entrance £3-3 with ............sovereigns added; two > miles; one event; weight for age; the second horse to have the entrance. > [What does the "with .........sovereigns" mean? - as written. > The £3-3 seems a lot of money to pay in those days. > Does the horse that came second get everyone's entrance money? > Does the winning horse get anything besides the Plate? > A two mile race over the countryside doesn't sound easy.] > > Ladies Purse:- Entrance £2-2 with ...........sovereigns added; Mile and a > half Heats; catch weights. > [Does this mean that they had to come a place in the heats and then race the > same distance on the same afternoon ie 3 miles of racing? > What are catch weights?] > > Race for Untrained Horses:- Entrance £1-1 with .........sovereigns added; > mile heats; catch weights. > > SECOND DAY > Publicans' Purse:- Entrance £2-2 with .......sovereigns added; mile and a > half heats; second horse to save entrance. > [Does this mean that the Publican had to provide the prize money?] > > Stockkeepers' Purse:- Entrance £1-1 etc; one and a half mile heats; etc > [Which stockkeepers?] > > Consolation Stakes for all beaten horses during the Meeting:- Entrance £1-1; > with ........sovereigns; Mile heats; weight for age. > > Hurry Scurry, for all untrained horses (the winning of any previous race > excepted):- Entrance £0-10-6 with ...........sovereigns; one mile heats; > catch weight. > > RULES > All disputes settled by Stewards, whose decision is final. > > Three horses to enter for each race. No walkovers allowed. > [I presume that to be the minimum number of horses for the race to proceed. > What does "no walkovers allowed" mean?] > > No person to run a horse for the first prizes of each day who is not a > subscriber of at least £2-2 to the race fund, and for other prizes £1-1. > [What does subscribing to a race fund mean?] > > Entries for first two races to close at 11am on the day of the race. > > Races commence 12 o'clock noon sharp. > > J.T.SMITH, Secretary. > > Looking back on the report of the results of a day's racing in 1884, I see > that my relatives raced their horses for multi miles on the same day; one > won 50 sovereigns twice on the day, the other won 100 sovereigns. I know > that the value of sovereigns varies, but does anyone have any idea how much > a sovereign would have been worth back then? > > BTW I searched for some glowing report about that first two days of racing > at Wentworth; what I found was: > Wentworth Races turned out to be a miserable failure, partly owing to the > supineness of the committee and partly to the bad faith of the stewards. > (Pastoral Times and Deniliquin Telegraph) > > Looking forward to becoming racing literate, > > Regards ..............Rusheen. > > > > > > > > > > > > ............... > > ______________________________

I would like to hear from any decendants of Frederick Joseph McKinnon and Sarah Jane Montgomery or anyone researching same. Maurice Brown

Hi List and Julie Sorry I do not have a copy of your original email, Julie, which I deleted, but I noticed Rusheen's comments and it triggered something. From the History of Bourke, Vol 12, p52 Reminiscences of Thomas Luke: "In connection with our Darling business we owned two or three steamers. Some of their captains were very good men, others were rough. One Captain Johnston, had great ambition to go with his boat through the Murray mouth. He accomplished it twice, but I think the anxiety was too great for him for after an illness he died. My wife and I being in Adelaide at the time of the funeral, in 1880, we thought we would attend and for that purpose (drove) 50 miles to Goolwa. It was a cold wet day but, including the s.s. children, some 600 went out three miles to the country. He was a good man and always stopped his boat on a Sunday unless it was a falling river. Service was held, generally conducted by the cook, a pure negro. Everyone had a good word for this African, even Johnston's partner who was a Roman Catholic, would sit a dn listen to the service." However on page 31 of the same volume it has Thomas Johnston buried on Kallara station on 13/8/1889. Probably not one and the same person, unless the transcription off the grave is not clear? Then on page 127 of the same volume we have a Captain G B Johnston who was honoured in 1878 with a medal from the Royal Humane Society for saving many lives - 15 over a period of years, allnamed in the article. I haven't looked any farther than this. Am I being helpful or obscure here? Jill

Dear Friends, I have three photos of the WARRAWEENA homestead somewhere near Bourke. I guess they were taken around the time of WW1 or before because the only vehicles in the shed / stables are 5 large horse drawn carts. (The 5 visible carts have a single box fitted over a single axle which has huge wheels.) The photos were scanned and enhanced from tiny prints. I can send scanned copies to anyone who wants ....... but I hope you can give me more information about Warraweena ....... Some Warraweena Trivia......................... Cobb & Co fans, eat your heart out.......... : http://www.cobbandco.net.au/Bourke.htm The Dry Lake Hotel, also called Warraweena or The Wheelhouse, burnt down in the late 1950s. Its many remains are still visible, situated between two waterholes (once public, now privately owned) that would have been used by Cobb & Co. The KELPIE dog breed ..............and WARRAWEENA My APPS ancestors movements coincide with the early dog movements, (or vice-versa <<grin, grin>> ) http://www.wkc.org.au/Foundation.html Kelpie was mated again to Moss and her second litter was born either just before or just after Gleeson moved to COX's North Yalgogrin as superintendent. Steve APPS who was employed on Cox's 'Merringreen' station, which adjoined Yalgogrin, was given a female from this second litter which he named Lass often referred to later as Apps Old Lass. The TULLY's were keen sheepdog men, breeders and great admirers of the Rutherford bred collies both before and after the Rutherford and TULLY families migrated to Australia. The TULLY's became well known breeders in the Riverina/Murray/Darling River districts. Mark gave his friend "Moss" a black dog bred by the Rutherfords on Yarrawonga station sired by 'Yarrawonga Clyde' and out of 'Rutherfords Lassie'. Mark and his family moved onto Warraweena station in the Bourke district. Marks grandson Peter states that Mark always used "Barbs" whilst his father William used Kelpies on the Darling River property. Cheers, Tony Moore (Balgo, Western Australia)

Wentworth held its first Race Meeting on 1st and 2nd January, 1861. Could someone help me to understand the terms used: FIRST DAY Wentworth Plate:- Entrance £3-3 with ............sovereigns added; two miles; one event; weight for age; the second horse to have the entrance. [What does the "with .........sovereigns" mean? - as written. The £3-3 seems a lot of money to pay in those days. Does the horse that came second get everyone's entrance money? Does the winning horse get anything besides the Plate? A two mile race over the countryside doesn't sound easy.] Ladies Purse:- Entrance £2-2 with ...........sovereigns added; Mile and a half Heats; catch weights. [Does this mean that they had to come a place in the heats and then race the same distance on the same afternoon ie 3 miles of racing? What are catch weights?] Race for Untrained Horses:- Entrance £1-1 with .........sovereigns added; mile heats; catch weights. SECOND DAY Publicans' Purse:- Entrance £2-2 with .......sovereigns added; mile and a half heats; second horse to save entrance. [Does this mean that the Publican had to provide the prize money?] Stockkeepers' Purse:- Entrance £1-1 etc; one and a half mile heats; etc [Which stockkeepers?] Consolation Stakes for all beaten horses during the Meeting:- Entrance £1-1; with ........sovereigns; Mile heats; weight for age. Hurry Scurry, for all untrained horses (the winning of any previous race excepted):- Entrance £0-10-6 with ...........sovereigns; one mile heats; catch weight. RULES All disputes settled by Stewards, whose decision is final. Three horses to enter for each race. No walkovers allowed. [I presume that to be the minimum number of horses for the race to proceed. What does "no walkovers allowed" mean?] No person to run a horse for the first prizes of each day who is not a subscriber of at least £2-2 to the race fund, and for other prizes £1-1. [What does subscribing to a race fund mean?] Entries for first two races to close at 11am on the day of the race. Races commence 12 o'clock noon sharp. J.T.SMITH, Secretary. Looking back on the report of the results of a day's racing in 1884, I see that my relatives raced their horses for multi miles on the same day; one won 50 sovereigns twice on the day, the other won 100 sovereigns. I know that the value of sovereigns varies, but does anyone have any idea how much a sovereign would have been worth back then? BTW I searched for some glowing report about that first two days of racing at Wentworth; what I found was: Wentworth Races turned out to be a miserable failure, partly owing to the supineness of the committee and partly to the bad faith of the stewards. (Pastoral Times and Deniliquin Telegraph) Looking forward to becoming racing literate, Regards ..............Rusheen. ...............

[I have written to Julie off List. She asked about two Darling River captains and their boats. I wrote to her about an explorer of the land to the far, far north west of NSW - even for me that was going off on some tangent!! The reason behind this was to offer an alternative topic (I know what these school projects are like) if she was unable to get sufficient information on the captains. Gow's 1860/61 exploratory expeditions started at Julie's Kallara Station, Gow took along the manager of Kallara, and the distances travelled on his expedition were all measured from Kallara. At approximately the same time as Burke and Wills went off across the country, it was surprisingly busy way out there. People pop up in the account who you wouldn't expect to find in this setting - the new owner of Kallara was the Melbourne City Coroner; McHattie the son of a well-known Bathurst doctor; Rotten the son of a Member of NSW Parliament. Plus the very casual reference, just once, that there were "30 blacks" in the party. Having copied the report, I chickened out of sending such an obscure reply to the List, and so just sent it to Julie. However this explains why I start this email with:- ] Hi AGAIN Julie, Except for the 1926 photo of the boat the William Davies, I said that I could not think of anything to help you - though the name Captain Johnston sounded familiar. Is there any chance that the man you are after is Captain JOHNSON of the steamer Moolgawanke which in 1860 took on board the Burke and Wills' Exploratory Expedition at Tarcoola and took them up to Menindie? The name of the boat appears under lots of different spellings, but newspaper reports of the time all spell his name as I have written it. I don't know his Christian name. Regards ..............Rusheen. >> From: "Justin & Julie McClure" <jj_jamcclure@bigpond.com> >> >> Hi, >> >> We live at Tilpa on Glenroy and Kallara Station. Our children are doing a >> project called Special Forever through School of the Air - Broken Hill. >> >> We have Captain Thomas Johnston buried on our family's property on the >> banks of the Darling River and would like to obtain a copy (prefer digital >> image) of Captain Thomas Johnston and the Paddle Steamer he captained (I'm >> not sure what it was called or who owned it). Our family also is closely >> connected with Captain Davies of Murtee Station at Wilcannia, we would >> like a photo of him and his steamer/s if someone has any information we >> could use for our project. >> >> If you would like a photograph of Captain Thomas Johnstons Grave stone I >> would be only too happy to send via e-mail. >> >> Thankyou, >> Julie McClure >