Oh well may have to sell the memories back to you (g :-) At last I can email you the Fitzgerald stuff, we have lightening all day haven't been able to turn the puter on. James Fitzgerald was born in 1833 at St John's, New Foundland, Canada. In 1852 he arrived in Sydney with other Americans (the 49ers) and they walked to Beechworth arriving there in early 1853. He came to the Buckland in November 1853. He was a compatriot of Henry Pardue who was the first to find gold in the Buckland. Fitzgerald and his party selected the third claim on the Buckland and he spent the next 60 years of his life in the valley. James married 21 year old Margaret Kane from Galway, Ireland in 1857. When first married the couple started off with a living room, a bedroom and a detached kitchen. As the family grew they added a girl’s room and a boy’s room and built a dairy. The dwelling was built of slabs, standing on end, and lined with hessian and paper. Later in the 1870's they added a large room on the front of the house. Grandson Percy Weston tells us “it was used for social gatherings and dances. It had a polished floor” James was eighty when he died at Wangaratt! a hospital in 1913. Margaret died at the family home in 1817 and both are buried in the Buckland cemetery. The Fitzgerald’s had nine children. John Keane Fitzgerald (1858-1898) was a miner and did not marry. He was killed on the 17 December 1898 in a fall of earth at the Fairly Creek Company’s gold mine on the Lower Buckland. The accident also claimed the life of another miner William Batt. Sydney Fitzgerald (1863-1882) was unmarried. He died as a result of a fight after an accident in a foot race at Brookside on the 26 October 1882. James Reeves Fitzgerald (1869) also unmarried was a lifelong resident of the Buckland where he carried on farming and grazing pursuits. He died at Bright Bush Nursing Hospital on 18 July 1948. Mary Ellen Fitzgerald (1861), Edward (1862), and Anna Lesley (1873). No other details known. Percy Maurice Fitzgerald (1875) Prior to joining the army in World War 1 Percy worked on the dredges at Buckland. He was also an enthusiastic cricketer who played for a number of years for the Buckland team as a slow bowler and punishing batsman. During the war he was a victim of a ‘Gas Attack’ which severely affected his health and employment in post war years. He died at Mont Park Sanatorium in November 1928, after a long illness. All the above family members are buried in the family grave at the Buckland cemetery. Ada Fitzgerald (1862) married William Bruce Shepheard (1879) from Western Australia. There is no record of children. Ada died 22.7.1942; William died 9.7.1962 both are buried at Bright. Catherine Ester Fitzgerald (1870-1965) married George Charles Western who worked on the dredges and did contact harvesting before purchasing a property ‘Coniston’ at Eurobin. For some years he conducted a butchering business with his brothers Alf and Bert before developing grazing interests. In 1885, with his brother Bill, he blazed a track on the Northern end of Mount Buffalo which was the forerunner of the present road. He grazed his Hereford cattle on Mt Buffalo from 1898 to 1925 when licenses were revoked. From 1920 he and his son Eric ran cattle on the Bogong High country during the summer. (My uncle Mick Culhane worked for Eric on the cattle). George was a very community minded person involved in local sports and the Eurobin School. Together with his brother in-law Hon Robyn Cook MHR, he was instrumental in promoting the pine plantations on the dredge tailings in the area. He married Catherine Fitzgerald at Myrtleford 27 November 1900. They would visit her parents with the children every month by horses and buggy. After her husband’s death she spent the remainder of her years with her daughter Verna at Sunbury. Their children were Ursula Western (b 1901 m Frederick Mommsen) Percy George Western (b 1903 m Monica Bradley) Eric Adrian Western (b 1905 m Patricia Higgs) Mervyn Gerard Western(b1909). Kerry ----- Original Message ----- From: Denise To: AUS-VIC-HIGH-COUNTRY-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 1:54 PM Subject: [HC] Help please I knew I shouldn't have sold my Memories of Oxley book (g) Has anyone ever indexed "There was a Time" by Graham Jones? Most of the books I've read of Graham's are not indexed, which makes looking for one name only a woeful job. In Memories I know Page 76 has an entry and wonder if anyone (g) could please send me the reference to Alex Rodgers - most likely some sort of engineering reference. If too long, a short outline would be very acceptable. Tungamah is another place I need to find this Alex Rodgers and I know there are a couple of books available. Apparently Colin Campbell wrote one - Alpha to Omega, Shire of Tungamah 1878-1994 and Alan Dunlop - Wide Horizons - Storey of Yarrawonga, Tungamah and Cobram Shires 1978 regards Denise -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.14.13/221 - Release Date: 4/01/2006