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William Hutchison
Delegate 1850 Biography | Photos | Genealogy |
Submitted by Judy McCutcheon <judymccutcheon3-at-gmail.com> William Hutchison was born Sept 1799 in Leith, Scotland, son of George Hutchison and Janet Donaldson, married Christian Lowrie 18 Feb 1834 in St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh. They emigrated on 15 Sept 1834 on the 'Undaunted', arriving Sydney 3 Feb 1835.
'Undaunted', a barque of 299 tons, departed London for Sydney, Australia, via Cape of Good Hope.
This was to be the only trip of the 'Undaunted' to Australian waters. Her captain was Thomas Armstrong. There was no surgeon on board and the vessel sailed with 57 persons on board, two of whom were officers with 11 mariners. There were 9 cabin passengers: William Evans, farmer of England; James Blair & Mrs Blair, wife; farmer of England; Mr Thomas Covenery, Farmer of England; Mrs Southcombe; Mrs Peacock; Mrs Marsden; Mrs Milliner; and Mr Richard Robert, Turner of England.
Steerage Passengers were: Mr Patrick Hennessy, age 28, Agriculturalist of England; his wife Catherine, age 26 and their children, Patrick, 5 & Mary, age 2. Thomas Hardiman, age 40, Gardener of England; his wife Rachael, age 36, children, Hannah, 8 & John 3. Charles Enderby, age 30, Gardener of England; his wife, Mary, age 34; children Mary age 6 & Charles 3. Patrick William Hutchison (looks as if spelt with 'n') age 35 Labourer of England; wife Christian, age 30. James Ward, age 21 Taylor (sic) of England; wife Ann, age 20. Betsy Nathan, age
24. Hannah Staines, age 28, Mary Staines, age 18; Elizabeth Staines, 8 & Hannah An Staines, age 4. Jane Ritchie, age 27; Robert G....age 28 and John Francis Kitchener, Woodcutter of England.
The voyage was uneventful until the 2nd of Jan when the captain was washed overboard in heavy seas; four of the crew died trying to rescue him when their life boat was overturned. There were no deaths other than these, but it was noted that one passenger had been spitting blood.
We have no idea why William was written down as Patrick William, nor why he was down as Labourer, as William had, until then, been a Ship's Steward and could read and write. The 'Undaunted' docked in Sydney on 5 February 1835.
William was employed by Count Rossi of Rossiville, nr Goulbourn as his Housekeeper. Count Rossi was Francis N Rossi who received a grant of 2,560 acres on the Wollondilly River. He had been head of the Police Department in 1829 in New South Wales and was also appointed or transferred to Collector of Customs in that year. In a letter from Mr E S Hall to the Colonial Secretary, Alexander McLeay in 1829, Hall states, "Captain Rossi, though unacquainted with our language and laws, gave general dissatisfaction by being appointed to an office which, of all
others, required an accurate knowledge of English in general, and of acquaintance with the inhabitants in particular." (From 'Historical Records of Australia, Series 1, Vol 1V, Mar 1828 - May 1829, Published 1922 by the Library Committee of the Commonwealth Parliament)
By Xmas 1841, the family had left Rossiville & were at Sutton Forest, NSW. From there they made their way south, probably stopping at working at various stations along the way. William and Christian were both educated and William's skills at bookkeeping were in high demand. By 1850, the family had reached Delegate, on the Monaro, south-west of Bombala, near the Victorian border. William died 14 July 1882 at Browns Camp, which is near Delegate (He taught miner's children to read and write until a school was started) and is buried in Delegate
Cemetery. Christian died 19 Sept 1887 and is buried in Delegate Cemetery.
There children were Robert Hutchison, George Hutchison, Mary Ann Hutchison and Christina Hutchison.
Robert was born 15 Dec 1835 at 'Rossiville'. He was a Grazier, married to Rachel Rankin 29 Mar 1856 at Cooma. Robert died 3 Sept 1901 at his property at Delegate River, Victoria and is buried in Delegate Cemetery. Rachel died 21 Mar 1912. They had no issue. Rachel was the daughter of Neil Rankin and Mary McTaggart.
George was born 21 July 1837 at 'Rossiville'. He married Eleanor Ann Pratt at Sale Victoria 21 May 1860. They took over the McLaughlin property at Dellicknora, which straddles the NSW/Vic border near Delegate. They had 14 children, most of whom married into Monaro families - Ingram's, Clifford, Crawford, Foley, Miles, Cotterill, Oldfield, Davis, Lawrence, Hobbs, Boag, Mooney, Cameron, Bridle to name just a few.
The family of George lived in a slab hut until 1876, when a Dutch American named Voorhies built what became known as 'Happy Home'. Still extant, the home is on the corner of the Browns Camp Road and the road to Tubbut.
Mary Ann Hutchison was born 15 May 1839 at 'Rossiville'. She married James Clifford. They owned 500 acres of land at Browns Camp. Her eldest daughter married Peter Cameron and the family still has property just down the road. Families into which her descendants married are Rich, Campbell, McDonald, Petch, Paine.
Christina Hutchison was born 29 Dec 1841 at 'Crossroads', Sutton Forest in NSW. Christina married Donald Rankin, son of Neil Rankin and Mary McTaggart. They owned 'Fairfield' at Delegate, NSW. The 1885 NSW Land Returns states 3,230.5 acres. From the 'Delegate Argus' ...Donald Rankin, J.P, Fairfield is the eldest son of Mr Neil Rankin, a native of Arglyshire, Scotland, where he was born in 1834. Nine years later he came to New South Wales with his parents, and finishing his education in the colony, proceeded in 1844 to Mount Cooper, where his
grandfather, the late Donald Rankin was manager for Messrs Campbell and Co of Campbell's Wharf, Sydney, and proprietor of Native Dog Station.
Donald & Christina had 15 children; Monaro families into which they married were Crawford, Miller, Clarke, Witts, Schuback, Brinsmead.
I am descended from William Hutchison and Christian Lowrie.
There is still a lot to be done on the family - gaps to fill etc;
Yours sincerely
Judy McCutcheon (judymccutcheon3-at-gmail.com)
Photos from Judy McCutcheon <judymccutcheon3-at-gmail.com> The Day Book of Arthur Henry Woolls & Jane Elizabeth Hutchison Arthur Henry Woolls was born in Pitt Street, Waterloo, Sydney on 8 Dec 1872, the second son and third child of Alfred Woolls and Louisa Hedges. The marriage was not a success, with Alfred bigamously marrying back in England, fathering another child, before deserting his wife to run away with her daughter from her former marriage! Consequently, Alfred changed his name to Woolls Cobb (with no hyphen) when he returned to Australia during the mid to late 1880’s. The family were also known as Cobb. Arthur arrived in the Dellicknora region in 1892, along with his father, Alfred, and the wife & children of Alfred’s mesalliance. Alfred Woolls, had been chasing gold for years and was quite adept at mining, as were his sons. Like most men of the era, he could turn his hand to most things and offered to repair the shoes of George Hutchison’s wife, Eleanor Pratt, the only pair she had. The Hutchisons had been in the Delegate region since circa 1850, with George the second son settling at Dellicknora after their marriage in 1860. George and Eleanor had fourteen children, the ninth being Jane Elizabeth, born 12 June 1877. The day that Arthur arrived at the homestead, Jane was arguing with her mother, wanting to put up her hair. Jane was immediately smitten by Arthur and wanted her hair put up, but her mother said, "No, you are too young." Hair up or down mattered not a jot. The couple meant to be together and love would out. Arthur did not particularly impress his future mother-in-law, as Eleanor thought him a toff, given his English accent, no doubt acquired when Arthur went to school in England. Arthur married Jane Elizabeth Hutchison of Dellicknora, near Delegate, on the NSW/Victorian border, 1 February 1893 at Bendoc. The marriage was a long and happy one, producing 12 children, all of whom survived. The family was known as Wools-Cobb, with some people calling them Cobb. Their daughter, Eleanor, born in 1905, was actually registered at Orbost in the name of Cobb. Jane’s mother, Eleanor Ann Pratt, delivered her grandchildren; this fact being duly noted on the children’s birth certificates. Arthur’s occupation is given as Miner at the time of the birth of their first three children despite already farming their land at Dellicknora. My mother, Violet Rosa Wools-Cobb, the youngest of the tribe of 12, gave me her father’s Day Book many years ago. Tattered and torn, it covers the years 1893 – 1920 but I will only deal with the years 1893 – 1913, which is when my grandparents left Dellicknora to farm at Modella and Bunyip in west Gippsland before retiring to Dandenong. I suspect that there were more entries, as pages have been torn or, in some instances, cut out. The first date I can find is an entry for the 19 July 1893 when Arthur worked for A Brendt from the 11th day of July 1893 to the 19th July 1893. Arthur charged A Brendt for the hire of himself and two horses and the repair of a saddle. He received £1 in cash with the balance of £5/10/- still to be received. Arthur & Jane farmed at Back Flat, located off Browns Camp Road, not far from Jane’s parents property at Dellicknora. Grandpa kept their farm going by hunting (he made his own bullets), mining and providing supplies to miners. Crops grown were maize, oats, peas, rye and potatoes. Whilst Arthur was a good farmer and excellent horseman, he was not good when it came to handling money, with Jane taking over the family finances some years later. Their farm consisted of Allotment 18 Parish of Cabanandra (Grazing area) 411 acres. Lease Vol 829 Folio 165784 in the name of A H Wools-Cobb. Crown lease allotment 13BQ13C Parish of Cabanandra 320 acres 1 rood 57 perches Vol 861 Folio 172003 in the name of A H Wools-Cobb 34 years at (looks like) 10/- per acre. Crown grant, Parish of Cabanandra, of 90 acres Vol 2889 Folio 577799 in the name of Jane Elizabeth Wools-Cobb. Crown Grant allotment 9a Parish of Cabanandra 20 acres Vol 1582 Folio 300279 in the name of Jane Elizabeth Wools-Cobb. Jane apparently also held, in her name, a Fire Insurance Policy to the value of £90. Grandma grew the fruit trees and vegetables to supply the miners and skun possums and kangaroos. Washing was done at the creek, at the bottom of the farm, on a Monday, dried on bushes and then hauled up the hill to the house to be ironed. They had a couple of milking cows and sold most of the milk. Arthur ranged the country and mines in a triangle between Delegate, Tubbut, Bendoc and Delegate River. The country was extremely rugged, difficult to transverse and extremely difficult to mine, but the rewards were sufficient to keep many a farm going until they became viable. The mines around the Dellicknora region were either gold, silver-lead, copper or tin. One of the mines was at Accommodation Creek, which joins the Deddick River about six miles from the Snowy River. The ore mined, in this instance, was copper. Getting to the mine was no doddle. From Dellicknora there was a bridle track for fifteen miles to the mine through bush that, to this day, tests the hardiest of souls. The geological survey of 1889 stated that there was payable gold at Bendoc and the Delegate River. The first claim being opened was in 1873 by a Mr Reed of Goongerah. This was alluvial gold and there was plenty, with most men being able to earn a consistent £15 a week for some time. The difficulty of driving mine shafts and getting suitable machinery in to crush quartz cannot be understated. The geological survey of 1889 states that just to drive a tramway through the jungle, cut a race and construct a water wheel had cost £10,000. Mining had been carried out on the NSW side of the border for many years, particularly around Delegate and at places such as Browns Camp, since the 1850’s. Other mines were at Mount Tingiringy and Mount Bowen. Arthur Wools-Cobb sold equipment and goods to the mines, quite apart from digging tunnels under contract and mining himself. Mining goods sold, and the price received, are duly noted in the Day Book. A lamp, for instance, sold for 7/6; 2 tomahawks and 1 pincer sold for 7/-; 2 gold dishes and 1 tape line brought Arthur 13/-, whilst 2 shovels and a saw were sold for 19/6. A bellows sold for £4/10/- in 1899. Whilst my grandparent’s comments in the Day Book could certainly not be called verbose, it does place Monaro families and individuals in a given place and time. I have retained the spelling used and just added punctuation for ease of reading. Where comments are required, I have used italics. This then is the story of their daily toil. 1 Jan - 12 Jan 1893 The Boss got milk one quart (one can only assume this was on a daily basis!) 13 Jan 1893 Bought off C Simpson 18 lbs beef (this was Charlie Simpson) 24 January The Boss got one quart milk 17 February 1893 Mrs Power started getting (sic) milk 17 March 1893 H Power started milking The opposite page is undated but states it is a butter account. The following is recorded. Goodmans 80 lbs £3/-/- Powers Butter £1/-/- Powers 3 lbs butter £ /2/3 Mrs Hobbs Butter £ /2/3 S John Butter £ /3/6 Janet 9d J Wallace Butter & eggs £ /4/- Bill Hobbs Eggs £ /1/- Ernie Hobbs Eggs £ /3/- Ernie Hobbs Butter £ /1/- Janet Butter & Eggs £ /3/6 Given that Goodman had a store, it would appear that Jane & Arthur bought butter from him then on-sold it to local farmers and miners. Going on the above figures, there would have been a nice profit margin. 19 July 1893 Bill to A Brendt for £6/10/- being for the hire of myself and two horses and repairing saddle. 7 Oct – 16 Oct 1893 Seccond (sic) trip of 9 days at 7/6 per day and 2 horses for 9 days £2/10/- My grandmother, Jane Hutchison, noted what stock they owned on the 1 January 1896, giving the following descriptors. Jane, whilst she could write quite clearly and well, could not spell particularly well and tended to spell things how they sounded – for instance "Emmur" below, which was in fact "Emma" and "Effer" for "heifer". 1 Red cow, 4 year old, branded (brand drawn) on rump, named Brindle, had two calves 1 Red and white cow, half white face, Branded (describes brand) on rump, 4 years old, named Darling, had 2 calves. 1 Red Effer (sic) thick hors, 2 years old, branded on rump and ribs in calf, named Emmur (Alberts) 1 spotted Effer branded on rump and ribs, 1 year old, named Beauty. 1 Red yearling steer small white patch on rump, branded rump and ribs. Swapped George Red yearling steer for 1 Milker marked left side with (looks like lightning flash) 1 Red stear (sic) spots on face, branded rump and ribs 1 yearling stear white with red neck, branded CC rump and ribs, out of …horne 1 roan bull yearling, branded CC rump and ribs (sold to John Hutchison) 1 baby calf out of Darling, borne 14/12/1895, branded 1 white faced calf, branded, borne 15/9/1895 1 Bay filly 1 February 1896 Sam Lane, Lucknow, came to work. Cutting oats and went to play cricket. cricket; joined cricket club. 2 February Cutting Oats & went to Charley Simpsons 3 February Went to the Bonanza to take a tribute (the Bonanza was a mine) 4 February Finished getting oats. 5 February Went to the Bonanza and Pioneer. 6 February 1896 Riding about. 7 February At home. 8 February 1896 At the Bonanza, cricket and called at R. Hutchison (this is Robert Hutchison, his wife’s uncle, who was married to Rachel Rankin). 9 February 1896 At home. 10 February Threshing and took cattle to J Hutchison (this is John Hutchison, Arthur’s wife’s brother, married to Sarah Foley) 11 February Went for bull, threshing. 12 February Yarded Albert’s filly (Albert was Arthur & Jane Wools-Cobbs eldest son). 13 February Rain. Doing calves at Cammerons (sic) (Colin Cameron’s son, Peter, married Mary Ann Clifford, daughter of Mary Ann Hutchison & hence was Jane Wools-Cobbs cousin. The Camerons bought a property just down the road from the Hutchisons. Their descendants still live there today). Took flour to Charlots (sic). (Charlotte was Jane Hutchison’s sister, married to John Cotterill). Fetched flour from Lights, went to meet Jack (probably John Light, married to his sister-in-law, Sarah Hutchison). 14 February 1896 Went to Bonang, got £2 from Jim, rode Albert’s filly to Cotterills. 15 February Threshing oats. 16 February Went to Church. Got Tom Begley’s rifle. Got haircut, went to Hobbs. 17 February Started for Dellegate (sic). 18 February Shooting, loading cart. 19 February Threshing and shooting. 20 February Shooting. Went to Waits & picknic (sic). Made 130 bullets. (Waits, also spelt Waite, became lifelong friends of the Wools-Cobbs and had a store at Browns Camp. The Church services mentioned were held at the Waite’s home. ) 21 February 1896 Shooting and threshing. 22 February Shooting & threshing. 23 February Shooting. 24 February Shooting. Went to Carters. 25 February Shooting & threshing. 26 February Shooting. Went to Waits. 27 February Shooting. Went to Johns. 28 February Shooting. Went to Reedy’s 29 February Threshing. Went to Johns
1 March 1896 Jane went to Carters. 2 March 1896 Shooting. Went to Cammerons (sic) & went to Johns. Come home cross at 12 pm. 3 March Went to Wattle Swamp with Gannon. Paid Norman Wait fifteen shillings. Jim Cotterill got bag of oats. 4 March Hunting. 5 March Hunting,
cleaning, oats. 6 March 1896 Got mare from Thomas Bryant to feed her and charge what I think fair, or keep the mare. John Hutchison got 4 bags of oats. 7 March Went to Waits for block & tackle to lift mare. 8 March At home lifting mare. 9 March Went to Camarrons (sic), Cotterills for flour. Went to Waits for Jack Lights flour & took block & tackle back. 10 March Went to Bridles Clame (sic) for horse shoes. Went to Hobbs for my axe. Got it at Johns. 11 March Cleaning oats & hunting a calf.
12 March Went for chains to Waits & up to Johns to load cartrages (sic). 13 March 1896 Hunting all day. 14 March Hunting all day. 15 March Went to Carters for knife. 16 March Hunting. Looking for bees. Up to Cotterills & Johns for led milter. 17 March Went to Simpsons for bullock with Mr Wait and killed him. Up to Cotterills & Johns late at night. 18 March 1896 Packed beef home, salted it & lifted mare. Done skins up. 19 March Went to Cammerons & Cotterills. Shod grey mare.
20 March Went to Dellegate. Paid Sam Mead 2/6. (Sam Mead was the father of Caroline Meade, who was to marry William Thomas Foley, son of Peter Foley & Rebecca Miles, in 1899.) 21 March 1896 Went to Cammerons for flour. Went to Cricket match. Paid J Clifford 1/-. (James Clifford was the son of James Clifford & Mary Ann Hutchison and, therefore, cousin to Arthur Wools-Cobb’s wife, Jane.) 22 March At home all day. 23 March Went to Waits to grind axes and making bullets. 24 March 1896 Went to work for Mr Wait.
25 March Ditto. Colin Cammeron got two bags of oats on account. 26 March Working with Jim Cotterill. Sold 60 lbs of wallabys to Joe. 27 March Working with Cotterill. Made him a bet of new hat that I will be out of debt by 26 March 1897. 28 March Working with Cotterill. Killed wattles, yearling. 29 March Went to Cammerons for Harness. 30 March Went to Waits for tea & to Cammerons for Chaff cutter. 31 March Working for Wait. Wet day. 1 April 1896 Shod Dot. Got Clearance from G B
Davies. Frank Crawford crushed. (Born in Gibralter, married Elizabeth Pratt, aunt of Jane Elizabeth Hutchison) Got timber from the mill. 2 April 1896 Cut Bee tree at Waits. (This was normal practice in the 1800’s – a tree containing a hive was found and cut down to extract the honey). 3 April Good Friday. At home. 4 April Taking two Bee trees with Mr R Wait. 5 April 1896 Easter Sunday. Away in the bush all day with Mr Voorhies. (A Dutch American, John Miles Poole Voorhies built Jane’s parents home on the corner of
Browns Camp and Tubbut Road (still extant). He also built Jane’s home at Back Flat and left her his estate when he made his Will on the 13th October 1899). 6 April 1896 Butting bees with Wait. 7 – 9 April Ditto 10 April Went to Waits with Honey. 11 April 1896 Went to Foleys to Cricket. Mack raffeled (sic) rifell (sic). (The Foleys lived at Delegate River & were related through marriage – Sarah Elizabeth Foley married John Hutchison. Sarah’s brother,
Peter Foley married to Jane’s sister, Annie Hutchison, had the Post Office at Delegate River. Their property was called ‘Raeburn’.) 12 April 1896 Came home from Foleys with W Hobbs. (William Hobbs married Jane’s sister, Christina Hutchison, in 1900). 13 April At home all day, got bark. Went to Waits for flour. 14 April At home all day doing wax. 15 April Blacksmithing at Waits all day. Bill Hobbs come. 16 April Doing skins & hunting. 17 April Setting snares with W Hobbs
19 April Went to Bonang. 20 April Went to Delegate with Jack Light. 21 – 24 April Setting snares with W Hobbs. There is a gap in the Day Book from 24 April to 31 August 1896. There is, however, a list of people whom Arthur paid for various goods and services. Names mentioned are:- C. Common; R Wattling; Rafter; W Hobbs, Jnr; C Clifford; Mrs Cammeron; C Cammeron; J Hutchison; R Hutchison; W Morrison, Jnr; R Marriott; J C Cotterill; N Waite; A J Cobb; C Simpson; B Allen; S Meade; Booth; Goodman; P Foley; J the Arribe (sic); Clancy;
Tom Gowen; W Bridle; Mr Waite. 1 September 1896 Started home; got home on the 2nd with Bob (This is Robert Hutchison, born 20 February 1873, and who later married Janet Robertina Davis, daughter of Joseph Davis & Janet Jamieson). 3 September Done skins up and went to the New Chum (a gold mine located on the eastern watershed of the Bonang River and owned by R Marriott. The main shaft was sunk to 60 feet and a drive put in.) 4 September Went to Waites
5 September Making garden at home. 6 September Went to Bob’s for hack. 7 September Went to Waites. 8 September Sowed peas & rye 9 – 12 Sept 1896 Sowed oats 13 September At home all day 14 September Putting in oats & went to Waits for flour. 15 September At home all day. 16 September A H Cobb first went to Browns Camp to work for Mr Wait 17 –3 Oct 1896 Browns Camp working for Mr Wait. (Browns Camp was a mine that had been extant since at
least the 1850’s. My great great grandparents, William and Christian Hutchison, lived there from about 1850 to their deaths in the 1880’s. William taught the children at Browns Camp until a school began in 1874.) Jane wrote in a box in the Day Book, "Money I received from Arthur. £1 for skins and £3.11.6 by cheque and £1 sovereign and £5.0.0 and 12/6 the first of all. £5 paid to Mrs N Wait. The mining job Arthur was doing for Mr Wait obviously paid well as there is a further note of income in the form of £22/2/-. Arthur worked for Mr Wait for some time at Browns Camp. 5 October 1896 Started for Orbost to get a Stallion. Went as far as Reeds. (Reeds had a hotel on the road to Orbost, on what is now called the Bonang Highway. The stallion was for Mr Wait). 6 – 9 October Got to Orbost, bought stallion and back home. 10 October Took Stallion to Browns Camp. 11-17 October Browns Camp 18 October Came home 19 October Put the rest of oats in and harrowed potato ground and went to Waits. 20 October Took Dot to
Browns Camp with pack of salt. 21 – 30 Oct Browns Camp. 31 October Took Stallion to Delegate Sale day. 1 November 1896 Came home. 2 – 11 November Browns Camp 12 November Went to Delegate & to the concert at Delegate River. With the exception of the occasional day home, and taking the dray to the mill for timbers and brick, Arthur spent until 24 December 1896 at Browns Camp. He was obviously well thought of, as Mr Wait gave him an "ace colt", after which Arthur came home for Christmas. Life
would have been very hard for Jane during this period, but the money would have been most appreciated and made Christmas 1896 rather special. The Day Book notes that between 8 August 1896 and 18 December 1896, Jane paid out £41/18/5. 25 December 1896 Went to Waits & to John Hutchison for crockery we got from Mrs McDonald. 26 December Went to Browns Camp with Mr N Wait. 27 December Went to O’Hares and come home. (O’Hares owned Currawong Station near Delegate). 28 December Went to Bonang to see Dickenson.
29 December Mowing grass at home and hired Harry Booth. 30 December Went to the Yellow Streak with dray for bark. 31 December Getting in bark with Jack Light and Harry Booth. Capsized the dray. Whilst Arthur was off work, cutting bark for his farm buildings, he supported his family supplying the Yellow Streak mine with mining tools. There is an undated list of tools supplied under the heading of "List of Yellow Streak Tools" as follows:
1 January 1897 Getting bark and went down to Waits and shod Dot and Bally. Jane carefully noted the provisions and the amount of those provisions they bought to on-sell to prospectors and miners. Mutton, tea, flour, treacle, salt, tobacco, matches and sugar loom large in amounts that would stagger the modern housewife; 150 lbs of flour; tobacco bought by the pound 2 January Putting bark roof on the barn. 3 January Went to Browns Camp and home again. 4 January Went to Bonang to see Dickinson 5 January Went out to the Lady Catharine (a mine) with Jack Light and to the Wattle Swamp. Had a fight with Harry Raine. (Harry Raine was to marry Arthur’s mother-in-law within 3 years). 6 January Putting bark on the barn. 7 January Putting a floor in the barn. 8 January Started mowing the oats for hay and went to John Hutchison. 9 January Mowing oats for hay with Mr Wait and Mr B Wait. 10 January Went to Waits for a sheep. 11 January Went to Waits for Sugar & Carocine (sic). 12 January Making hay with the Mr Waits. 13 January Mowing oats and pulling peas. R Hutchison started work. By the 16th January, the hay was safely in the barn and Arthur was heading off to Mr Waits for another sheep. 18 January Putting up the Stud fence with Jack & Bob. The specifications for the stud fence are clearly spelt out in the Day Book. Arthur wrote: "60 chains of stud fence, bottom logs not to be less than one foot, any length. Studs 6 ft 6 inches, with bark off bottom, not less than 6 inches thick, to be put 1 foot 9 inches in the ground with one wire in the middle. Studs not more than 9 feet apart. Other rails from 6 to 8 inches, fence to built 5 feet in height, to be pig and sheep proof. Fence must be completed by the 1st of April. Any old dry logs crossing line to be shifted, also dangerous trees to be felled. No money to be paid until job is completed." 19-21 January 1897 Ditto and getting in hay. 22 January Mr B Wait took our Photos (I do not have these early photos, the earliest I have is around 1900). 23 January Carting in hay & Mr Wait took photos of the house (this is, unfortunately, lost). 24 January 1897 Got the black Stallion scrubber in. 25 January Reaping rye 26 January Ditto and carting in oats. Got bay filly from George. By the 30th January, Arthur had finished getting in his rye and other crops. 31 January Went to church at Waits and riding the young horse. 1 February 1897 Went to Bonang and Bendoc to Summons Chamberlain and got a promicery (sic) note from Dickinson and come home with R Hutchison on the 2nd February. 3 February Fencing off the garden at home. 4 February Down at Waits and up at Cotterills. 5 February Working at home. 6 February Went to Bendoc to court and got a verdict against Chamberlain. 7 February Home all day. 8 February Cleaning peas at home and took the dray and Mr Waits peas home. 9 February Went to Cabenrandra and got a pig. Got C Simpson to cut the Stallion. 10 February Putting up fence and bought some things from Joe. 12 February Finished the Stud fence and went up to the Delegate River to see Mr Ellas. 14 – 18 February Went back to Browns Camp to finish the contract and took Harry Booth up to work with me. 19 February Come home and killed a young bullock for beef down at Waits. 20 February 1897 Took the beef up to the prospectors. 21 – 26 February Back at Browns Camp. 27 February Went to Bonang. 28 February Went back to Browns Camp and took up the black Scrubber. 1 – 8 March 1897 Back at Browns Camp. Harry Booth finished working for me. I rode the black scrubber from Browns Camp and got George Hutchison to cut the pigs & rode down to Bobs with Chamberlain and went up to the prospector’s camp. 9 March Went up to the Pioneer (mine). 10 March Went up to Browns Camp for the harness. 11 March Went to Bonang to send the land money away. 12 March At home stripping bark and helping Mr Voorhies. 13 March Took the Bay horse up to Peter Scallean. 14 March Swapped the Bay horse to Peter for a black horse and 30s. to boot! Swapped the black horse to Charles Bryatt for a grey mare. 15 – 17 March Working up at the Prospectors camp for the cook and came home. 18 – 19 March Took apples and straw up to the Prospectors. Working for them. 20 March Went to Delegate and took a box of apples to Delegate River for Mrs Hunter. 21 March Came home by the Prospectors Reef and had Photo taken on the reef with all the rest. 22 March Went down to Waits and trying to deal with Chamberlain. 23 March Went down to Waits, Cottrills and Lights, then to Bendoc. 24 March We kild (sic) the lop eared pig. Then went out to the Battery to see young Bob. 24 March Mrs McKellars horses came here 25 March Working at home all day. 26 March 1897 Down at Waits shoeing Mr Waits Cassy. 27 March 1897 Went to look for cattle with C Hutchison to Tubbut and stopped all night with Bill Coe. 28 March Got the cattle and had an accident with Ned Kelly. Little Charlie got him out of the fix. Put Mothers Dawson cow in the old place. 29 March Made an agreement with Bill Coe for a cow and brought her up from Carters and killed her for beef. 30 March Brought beef home, drawed wood and put Darling in George’s paddock. Went with Mr Waite down river poisoning for dogs. Let Bob Baldy. 31 March Went to Browns Camp for Billy to Prospectors. 1 April 1897 Took me pack down to Bobs and went to Sam Meads for Bobs things. 2 April Started away opossum hunting with Bob. (Possum hunting was quite lucrative, as were other types of hunting. There is an undated record of 131 Wallaby’s at 2/- each bringing £13/2/-; Opossums 91 bringing 4/11; Bobucks 5 bringing 10/- and Rocky’s 6 bringing 3/3). 3 – 16 April Opossum hunting with Bob. 10 April Creamy & boney come here (these were cattle) 17 April Came as far as McKellers on the way home; arrived home on the 18th . 19 April William started digging potatoes. (William was Jane’s eldest brother). Went down to Bobs and up to the Prospectors camp. 20 April Went down to Bobs and done the skins up. Went down the river and found a tame dog poisoned. The remainder of the month is taken up with travelling between the Waites, Browns Camp, the Camerons and the Foleys at Delegate River. 1 May 1897 Took the bay mare and apples up to the Honeysuckle to the prospectors. 2 May Started away after boobucks to the McKenzies (I think this was another terminology for roo hunting)on the 11th May & mentioned he had been away hunting with Bob.) 12 – 15 May 1897 Digging potatoes at home with William. Brought Darling home out of George’s paddock. 16 May Went to church at Waites. 17 May Digging potatoes and went to Camerons for Beef. 18 May Helped William to finish digging the potatoes and went down to Waits for tea. William finished digging the potatoes. 19 May At home all day. 20 – 23 May Went up to the Pioneer & prospectors camp, then up to the Honeysuckle to the prospectors and then into NSW to the prospectors. 24 – 31 May Went to Delegate with Jimmy Goodsir and then opossum hunting with Jimmy Goodsir. 5 June 1897 Came home with skins, went to Delegate and sold skins. Got the money for Joe and came home from Delegate. 6 – 14 June 1897 Went Opossum hunting with Jimmy Goodsir; set some snairs up Tingyringy and went to J Hutchisons. Arthur was home by the 15th June before leaving for the Snowy River to try and get a job, but was home by the 18th. No mention of obtaining a job. 19 June Went to Delegate and sold my Possum skins and bought a Boiler at the sale and a jam jar and came home. 20 – 21 June Got my snares from up Tingyringi and went to Bonang to send the Land money away. 22 June 1897 Started for the Snowy River, went as far as Jim Goodsir’s camp. 23 – 28 June At Snowy River, set some snares and did odds & ends at Snowy River. 29 June Started work for Mr Clarkenson at Snowy River. 30 June – 17 July Working for Mr Clarkenson. 18 July Came home 19 July 1897 Started work at the Silver Lead mine for two powns (sic) ten per week. 21 July 1897 (Jane’s entry) Baught (sic) off Goodman Drapery & groceries £1/12/- Arthur must have gone home on the 22nd July because framed in big letters is the following "July 23rd 1897 Jane Cobb first went down to the Snowy River Silver Led (sic) mine." 20 – 31 July Worked the silver lead mine; come home with Jim Cotterill. 28 July Gardner’s horses come here to paddock. Arthur worked at the silver lead mine, on the Snow River until the 21st August; returned home for one day, then worked there again until the 27th August when he returned home with Dan Ready & Jim Cotterill. He loaned Dan Ready his horse Bally to go to Bendoc. Jane, at this stage of her marriage, knew how hard her husband worked, but was also aware of how money just seemed to slip through his fingers. Consequently, Jane began to note in the Day Book when she had loaned Arthur money. 18 August 1897 A H Wools-Cobb due to Jane E Wools-Cobb money lent. There was a constant fine balancing act with finances. Jane also notes on the 18th August 1897 that £5 had to be paid to N G Wait for dray, but then noted that she had received £5 from C Simpson for a cow. 15 August Gardner took 1 horse away paid 2/6 21 August Gardner brought horse back. 28th August Lost a half a shift on Saturday the 28th. Went up to Browns Camp & paid Mr N Wait £5. 29 August Went back to Snowy River 30 August Fell out of work, got work with Hugh McDonald for three days. 4 September 1897 Started work for Clarkenson again in the mine and come home with Jim Cotterill. 5 September Went to Cotterills and borrowed money for Bill Coe and brought Albert’s cow out of Georges padock (sic) and went back to the Snowy River. The Dellicknora State School began on 13 September 1897 and this is noted in the Day Book, written large and given a border! Obviously, a red letter day in the lives of the family. Jane made the entry as Arthur remained at Clarkenson’s mine on the Snowy River until the 17th September. Their eldest son, Albert, attended the school as one of its first pupils. We know from the Will of John Miles Poole Voorhies that one of its first teachers, if not the first, was Harvey Crimp, who witnessed Voorhies Will 13 Oct 1899. 19 September 1897 The grey mare had a fole (sic). Jane also noted that their heifers had all calved by the end of September. Some of the names of their stock were Nasty, Hearts, Clancy, Dairy Maid, Snowden, Red Man, Tatchy, Bob, Daisy, Baldy, Snowdrop, Speck, Strawberry, Tiny and Twin. All stock were duly noted and described as they were born. Arthur returned to the Snowy River mine until the 25th September when he returned with Jim Cotterill, noting that he had paid Jim Cotterill £6. 26 September Rode Ned Kelly up to Johns and he bucked all over the paddock. Started for the Snowy River with a pack horse for Jim with Bob Hutchison and worked with Bob until 2nd October when I come home with Bob. 3 October Went back to S.R with Bob until 10 October when I went over to Wattle Swamp for the little white mare and stoped (sic) at home that night. 11 October Started for S.R with Jim Cotterill until the 16th when I come home. Lent Jim Bally to ride up and down again. Arthur rode Ned Kelly back to the Snowy River and was working up there until the 30th when he noted that he had sold Ned Kelly to Bert McDonald for £3.10.00 then came home. 30 October Brought Ted Powers horse up to padock and brought Jones things up from S.R. 31 October Rode Mothers old Tim down to S.R 1 November 1897 Run in a horse to Snowy River for 15/- reward. 2 November Working in the mine until 6 November 6 November Come home and brought Humes mare up. Arthur worked up at the Snowy until the 13th November. 13 November 1897 Bought two Scrubers of Joker Jonson and 25 lbs of butter. Come home and brought Ted Power up with me to work and hired him to work. (Ted Power remained working for Arthur until 19 Dec 1897 when it was noted that he left for Cooma. Once again, it must have been momentous for the family because, unlike other entries, his leaving was written carefully and beautifully, surrounded by decoration in another section of the Day Book). 14 November 1897 Went up to Browns Camp for medicine for Lily and home again. (Lily was the 2nd child of Arthur & Jane, born 18 August 1895) 15 November Rode Albert’s filly down to S.R and packed a 100 of potatoes down. Arthur remained at the Snowy River until the 20th, returning home and then back to the Snowy River on the 21st. 22 November Jim Cotterill started to Bairnsdale and put little Mr Shore on in his place. 23 – 27 November Working with Shore. 27 November Come home and brought Mr Shore and Alic (sic) Rankin up with me. 28 November Delt (sic) the link filly away to Shore and 30/- for a black draught mare and took her up to Browns Camp and got two coils of wire from Mr N Wait. Come back and got Mick Assids things from Charlotte’s and started for the Snowy River. Also hired Alic (sic) Rankin for a week to help Ted Power with the fence. 29-30 November Working in the mine. Jim Cotterill come home from Bairnsdale. 1 December 1897 Arthur did not go to work with Jim Cotterill. C Simpsons black mare come here. 2 December Come home and helped Ted & Alic to do the fence. 3-5 December Went back to the Snowy River and Alic Rankin went away. 5 December Brindel (sic) was taken to Camerons to the Bull. 6 December Started prospecting for Mr Clarkenson. 7-19 December Working for Mr Clarkenson. 19 December Ted Power left for Cooma. 20 December Picked up Vina at Georges. Took horses to Delegate. Come home and brought Vina to Mr Wait and went back to the Snowy River. 26 December Went up to Johns with Raymond to buy some things of the man with the wagonette and went down to Waits. 27 – 31 December Down at Waits helping Mr Wait to get the hay in. Jane made several entries during this period. Money I paid away since Arthur has been down at the Snowy River.
1 January 1898 Went up to the Delegate River with Raymond to play cricket. Come home and brought the iron for the dray. (Also noted is a payment to Larry Quinn for cricket of 8/-. Larry Quinn was the husband of Mary Foley, daughter of Peter Foley and Rebecca Miles.) Paid Booth £2 2 January 1898 Charlie started work for Arthur. (This is, in all probability, Jane’s brother, Charles, born 5 Oct 1882). 3 January 1898 Started for the Black Mounten (sic) with Charlie for the Bull. Stoped at S.R that night. 5 January 1898 Got the bull and started home, camped on the road. 7 January Blacksmithing at Waits. 8 January Went up to Browns Camp to try and get some butter. 9 – 31 January Arthur was at the Snowy River, returning home periodically to take four packs of potatoes back up to the Snowy River and cheese and butter obtained from Chesterfields. Other goods included tobacco plugs. 11 January Old Boby (sic) come here to paddock for Jim Hobbs. Beef from Cameron on tick. 12 January Bob Jonson’s horses come here to padock and John Mudy’s (Mudie) mare took on. 14 January Bill Tuckwell started work. 15 January Got 14 lbs of beef from Mother. 19 January Got 48 lbs of Beef from George. 25 January Bill Tuckwell got 1 pair of boots & 1 lb tobacco for 12/6 The beef obtained by Jane was on-sold to miners, along with the vegetables, in particular potatoes, that the family grew. As mentioned above, other goods supplied to the miners were cheese and butter, tobacco and mining equipment. 29 January Brindels calf & Bobs cow and Annie’s cow to Victory. Darlings bull calf with white face sold to J H (probably John Hutchison). Emma’s bull calf – red with star in forhead sold to G H (probably George Hutchison). Brindels heaffer (sic) Calf all roan in calf. 1 February 1898 Rented four horses to Sid Henly to come to the New Chum (A mine where Arthur stayed until the 5th when he returned home) 5 February Up to Johns and up to Roaring Camp (another mine). 7 February Bought two pigs off George and fetched them down and bought a horse off George – the ranger colt and went up to Roaring Camp and started for the Snowy River on the ranger colt. 8 February 1898 Sold the ranger colt to D. McLain for £5.10.0 10-14 February The Snowy River was flooded and washed the two boats away the same week the Boss nearly got drowned. 1898 was when a man of Indian extraction, Joe Mahommed, first came into the district with his travelling store. He bought and sold. Joe was to become a fixture in the district and it is on 17 February 1898 when Jane made the terse comment, "Indian 2/8" 15 – 19 Feb 1898 Home. Rented two horses to Parker. 20 February Bought the sick filly of George and rode her back to the Snowy and lent Bill Tuckwell Old Pip to ride down. 21-23 February Come home with Mr Clarkenson and got fresh horses and went to Bendoc. Stoped there all night and went to Delegate with Mr Clarkenson, who stopped at home with me before we went back to the Snowy River (Arthur remained there until the end of the month). 24 February The little white sow had pigs. 26 February The black sow had pigs. 1 March 1898 Got the contract to put a tunnel in 250 feet. 6 March Went up to Glanerapy (sic) (Gelantipy) to meet Mr Clarkenson and stoped to prospect for him until the 20th March. 21st March Sold Vina to Mr Wait and went back to Snowy River. Arthur remained there in the end of March. 26 March 1898 Jane wrote, "Paid Joe Moommahed (sic) with skins on account £1/4/-" 2 April 1898 Nocked (sic) Bob and Jack Light off and come home. 1 April Timber for Harrow 3/- Tobacco 5/- 3 April Looking for Lily’s Bally heifer. 4 April Gave Jack Light a weeks work and went back to the Snowy River. 11 April Paid B Bryant 6/6 13 April Lent N Hobbs 2/- Arthur remained at the Snowy River until the 17th April. 17 April Came home to kill the pigs and fetched a Kangaroo dog up with me. 18 April Killed the big Pig. 19 April 1898 Killed the four other Pigs, cut them up and salted them, and rode the brown snip filly I got from George. 21 April 1898 Branded the calves and the grey mare’s foal. 22 April Went back to the Snowy River and took a pack load of pork on the snip filly. 23-26 April Finished with the contract tunnel. 27 April Started away down to Bruthen for Mr Clarkenson. Arthur was away at Bruthen until the 28th May. Clarkenson may have been involved in the coaching run from Bruthen to Omeo, because grandfather used to talk of driving a coach and looking after the horses on the Bruthen to Omeo run. 28 – 30 May 1898 Arrived home from Bruthen and looking for Dolly and Dot and Bees wing. 31 May Went to Delegate for tucker and my new Saddle. 1 June Home from Delegate. 2 June Hanging up the bacon. Arthur went back to the Snowy River until the 19th June when he returned home, almost certainly to be there for the birth of their 3rd child, Arthur Henry Wools-Cobb, because he notes that, on the 29th June, the baby was born. Arthur stayed at home until the 12th July when he returned to the Snowy River prospecting. The entries that Jane made in the Day Book during the period late June to the end of the year only name the people that she paid and the amounts. Names mentioned are Clancy, McDonald, Booth, Foley, Wattling and Waits. 6 June 1898 Charlies cow got in calf. 17 July 1898 Returned home, went back with Jack Light and Mrs McKeller. (The latter may well be the mother of McKeller, the ferryman who maintained a punt across the Snowy River until 1925. Arthur certainly worked and serviced mines in the area, such as Mount Tingiringy and Mount Bowen and noted in later entries that when he did not make it to the mines before nightfall, he stayed at McKellars.) 24 July Borne home sick and remained in bed until the 27th July. 29 July Went to Lights with wife. 30 July Went to Delegate with Jack Light and took Mr Voorhies skins, three dozen and three and come home on the 31st. 1 – 2 August 1898 At home 3 August Over at Lights to see about the things from Delegate. 4 August Went up and met William (his brother-in-law, William Hutchison) with the dray and brought flour and sugar home. 5 – 10 August Drawing wood at home. 11 August Putting up fence with Jack Light. Come home drunk. 12 August Killed the pig. 13 August Finished the fence. 14 August 1898 Started for the Snowy River. Mr Clarkenson was not at home and I stopped at McKellars. Arthur did not return home until the 16th September, bringing with him Mastive pups. 17 – 21 September Went up to the New Chum and took Jane to see Fanny. 22 September Started work in the New Chum for Ted Bickerton and Mr Carrol. Arthur remained at the New Chum until 1 October when he returned home and started ploughing in potatoes for the contractors. 11 October 1898 The grey mare had a foal. 12 October Started working for the New Chum manager. 13-14 October 1898 John Hutchison started cutting chaff. 17 October John finished cutting chaff. 18 October John took the dray away to get mended. 20 October Dot had a fole (sic) 19-21 October I lost a shift with Jack Light for the Boss 22 October Come home and took a pack load of chaff out 23 October Ditto 24 October Started again working for Ted Bickerton and W Carrol in the contract. 25-29 October Lost half a shift on account of no timber. Sold the black brumby to Harry Booth for £2 30 October Took the rest of the chaff out to the Boss. 31 October Afternoon shift. 1-2 November 1898 Lost shifts on account of no timber. 3 November Got timber and worked the shift with Mullen. 4 November Lost a shift 5 November Ditto at the hair drive 6 November Went up to Camerons and got a pig. 7 November 1898 Working at the New Chum. Received a letter from Melbourne to go to the Snowy River. 8-10 November Went to the Snowy River, come home, went out to the New Chum and come home again, then went cattle hunting. 11 – 12 November Working at home; went to a dance at Bobs 13 November Took the grey mare and Dot up to Browns Camp. 14 November Working at the New Chum and took £5 up to John working at the New Chum. Arthur worked at the New Chum until the 26th November. 26 November 1898 Came home with Charlie Dikiper and took the chaff cutter down to Mr Waits. 28 November The old black mare had a fole Arthur worked again at the New Chum until the 29th when he "went to Bonang to send the Land Money away." He continued to work at the New Chum, losing a day because he had toothache, returning home for Xmas and the New Year. He did not start working in the mine again until the 10th January 1899 and continued to do so until February, noting that he took 3 bags of hay to the mine and lost a shift "on account of no wheal" (sic). 1 February 1899 Lost a shift to go to Delegate River for a girl. 3 February Come home with Harriet Poulton. (Harriet was to marry Robert Crawford, Jane’s cousin, a short time later in 1899. Jane noted that she paid Harriet wages of 5/- and 3/-) 4 February Took Mrs Foleys saddle back. 5 February Went to New Chum to go on night shift. Arthur worked continually through February, with the exception of 12 February when he went to Delegate for cricket, & March, noting on the 5th March, & again on the 12th March, that he was "taking Tom Allens things." From the 18th March, Arthur worked continually at the Federal mine up until the 27th June when he had a short sojourn at the Bonanza. Jane, in the meantime, wrote faithfully down the expenditures of the family, set out below. It would appear that she had her brother, John, hire men to work for her and then paid them through him. The table below covers from September 1898 through to July 1899. I have not put in repetitive names, but note that Colin Cameron, George Hutchison and Jack Light, noted in previous entries, are also mentioned. Paid in cash since September 1898
21 July 1899 Started for Orbost to meet Mr S McClean. Arrived home again Saturday 25th. 27 July Went to the copper with McClean (this may well be a copper mine in the district as, over the next few days Arthur is going back and forth with Tom Hutchison to the copper. Mr McClean went with Arthur to Delegate on several occasions before finally leaving for the copper with Peter (probably Peter Foley) and Albert, Arthur’s son on the 23rd September. Arthur, in the meantime, had set out for Orbost riding Tom Hutchison’s horse Magic. From this date onward entries are haphazard. The Day Book faithfully notes who worked for the couple and their conditions of employment. For instance, L H Booth worked for Arthur in 1899 and again in 1902, clearing the front paddock and clearing the weaning paddock, for which he was paid £3/7/6. There would not have been much left over for L H Booth, as Arthur & Jane charged him 7/- a week board. Interestingly, the two events that occurred in Australia shortly thereafter, the beginning of a new century and the first federal election, did not rate a mention in the Day Book. 13 October 1899 Jane wrote in the Day Book – Coppy (sic) of Voorhies Will. This is the Last will and testament of John Miles Poole Voorhies of Back Flat, Dellicknora, Parish of Cabanandra, County of Croagingalong, Victoria, Australia. I hereby give, devise, and bequeath to Jane Elizabeth Wools-Cobb, her heirs, executors, and administrators for her and their own use and benefit, absolutely and for ever, all my estate and effects, both real and personal, whatsoever and wheresoever and of what nature and quality soever and I hereby appoint her, the said Jane Elizabeth Wools-Cobb, the sole executrix of this my Will. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and ninety nine. Signed by the said John Miles Pool Voorhies in the presence of us present at the same time who in his presence and the presence of each attest and subscribe our names as witnesses hereto: Harvey M Crimp, State School Dellicknora, Robert Henry Wait, Cabanandra, Grazier. 15 – 16 Jan 1901 R H Wait was paid for two days work 8/- 18 January 1901 Louis Rick started work, milking for one week, harvesting for one week. 1 Feb 1901 R H Wait was paid £1/17/- for 2 bags of peas 11 February 1901 Cash to pay survey fees on M5 block £5 (I have not yet ascertained who had previously owned this block, but it may well have been Michael Foley’s; certainly Arthur & Jane took over the block and spent extensively on its improvement over the following year). 1 March 1901 Louis Rick signed off that he had been paid in full. 18 April 1901 To pay Mable (sic) Light for cow and calf £1/10/- (Mabel Light was the eldest child of John Augustus Light & Sarah Hutchison (the latter Jane’s sister). Mabel married John Joseph Barry in 1909 and spent the remainder of her life in Bacchus Marsh). 5 Dec 1901 To buy black mare from Abraham £1/10/- 1 Apr 1902 Jane listed their stock noting when they calved 8 May 1902 To pay Colon (sic) Cammeron for Cattle £19/5/- To pay Mrs Denny for calves and pony £15/18/- To pay Booth Delegate £12/3/6 12 May 1902 To pay for improvements on M Foley Block £6-/-/6 30 June 1902 Send to Jim Cobb £5 (This is Arthur’s brother) Peter Foley, married to Annie Hutchison (Jane’s sister) came to work for Arthur on 28 November 1902, along with Arthur Mead, Charles Hutchison and Thomas Hutchison. They continued to work for him until the 23rd January 1903 when the harvest was in and they were paid in full. The Day Book notes that the men were charged 8/6 against their wages for tobacco. Peter Foley earned £7/15/-, whilst Arthur Mead earned £2/5/- and the Hutchison brothers £1/15/-. The men were paid in cash. By the end of 1902, Arthur and Jane had 5 children and a property of several hundred acres that they were constantly improving. The property was well stocked and had a permanent water supply. 20 Jan 1903 Pay Jim Cotterill for fencing MFB £20 25 Jan 1903 Paid P Foley for bark stripping with Tom Charley and Arthur Mead £11/5/- 14 Feb 1904 Sent money away for land MFB £8/14/- 6 Sept 1904 Received cash for calves £10/10/- John Quinn, son of Lawrence Quinn & Mary Foley, worked for my grandfather periodically for at least a year, each period being duly noted. 9 November 1904 John Quinn signs off that he has received his wages in full, being paid in advance to the 12th January 1905 from Arthur Wools Cobb The farm at Back Flat was a mixed one by 1905, carrying milking cows, beef cattle, pigs and sheep, the latter to prove quite lucrative. Crops grown were wheat, oats, barley, peas and potatoes. Fruit was also grown. 1 Jan 1905 Money for bark £1 22 Feb 1905 Sold to Mr McNee 54 sheep at 15/- each. Took a deposit of £5 to be delivered on or before the 15th March 1905. 18 March 1905 To pay Watson & Newton £9/11/11 12 May 1905 Sent money away for land £17/6/5 To pay P N to James & Co £26/1/- 1 June 1905 John Quinn signs off that he has now been paid for the period January 1905 to 27th March 1905 23 June 1905 John William Quinn signs off that he has been paid all his due wages. 1 January 1906 Colin Cameron supplied Arthur with 12½ chains stud fence @ 5/- at a cost of £3/2/6 By 1906, Arthur & Jane were regularly agisting cattle and horses for local families. The Day Book notes that C Simpson agisted his horses for the period 1 Dec 1906 – Xmas 1907. Arthur & Jane also provided their stallion to service Mr Simpson’s mare. The total sum charged in 1907 was £8/19/9. 3 (The Day Book notes that by the 3rd March 1908, Mr Simpson still owed Arthur & Jane £2/5/8) 17 July 1906 Mrs Simpsons 5 calves come here to grass at 4d per head per week. Mrs Simpson paid 3/6 in advance (Probably Charlie Simpson’s wife, whose name may have been Alison – the name Alison Simpson regularly cropping up on certificates of the period, Alison being the Registrar for Births, Deaths & Marriages in the district.) 4 August Simpsons Bally horse come 14 August 14 lbs beef to Simpson 4/1 14 August Chaff to Simpson £3 15 September C Hutchisons black horse come here for grass 1/- a week. 18 September Mrs Simpson took Creamy mare away also the calves By August 1907, Jane & Arthur’s family had grown to six, with another on the way. Consequently, the family’s shopping list had grown. 24 August 1907 Jane made a list of goods that she bought from Joe Mahommed
November 1907 Jane noted the following purchases:
December 1907 Bought off Joe Mahomed Drapery 10/6 4 Apr 1908 Banked Commercial Bank £100/-/- 6 Apr 1908 Mt Bowen S Ex. Copper mine. List of tools etc now on mine.
September 1908 saw Arthur and Peter Foley working for Colin Cameron supplying a stud fence. Their labour amounted to £5/10/-. Apparently, this was to improve Mrs Cameron’s lease block. This was paid in cash and in kind; the kind being a cow and calf to the value of of £3. Cash was always in short supply. Men would obtain work wherever they could in order to obtain the cash to improve their farms or to supplement their farm income. Many worked in the mines that were dotted around the countryside. Arthur, along with his eldest son, Albert, George Matthews and Goodman worked at the Yellow Streak mine from the 17th June 1909 until the 18th November 1909. They earned a total of £38/6/8. The party had to supply their own mining supplies and bought the following at Delegate River between the 21st June 1909 and the 25th September 1909. 2 coils fuse @ 1/- per coil & 2 lbs candles @ 9d per lb 2 cartons gelignite @ 10/- per carton 4 coils fuse @ 1/- per coil & 6 lbs candles @ 9d per lb 2 cartons gelignits @10/- a carton 4 coils fuse @ 1/- per fuse and 6 lbs candles @ 9d per lb. The bill came to £3/00/06 The men were paid 4/2 per shift. Arthur earned £11/13/4 for the month of September 1909, whilst Albert earned £4/3/4 in September and £7/10/- in November of that year. George Matthews earned £10/14/6 during the month of September, whilst Goodman seemed to have worked least, earning only 4/6 and 12/- during the same period. Dellicknora 4/12/09 This is to certify that I have this day received from Mr H Preston the sum of £25 being payment on account of grass over the term of six months. £12/10/- to be paid on June 3rd 1910 and £12/10/- on December the 3rd 1910 when the time will expire unless Mr Preston purchases the property. This is to certify that the above account is correct. Signed Henry Preston. Witness Emily G Hutchison. Whilst negotiations for the sale of the land continued, Arthur & Jane continued getting an income from the property through agistment. The Day Book notes that on 1 October 1911, Henry Preston agisted 2 cows at 4d a week, paying 2/- in advance. Jane noted that on 13 Nov 1911, Prestons lame cow calved and on 21 November 1911, Preston’s roan cow calved. Mr C Richardson agisted 27 head of cattle and 33 bullocks at 4d per week at Back Flat for much of the latter part of 1911, paying both in cash and kind. Mr Richardson also bought 18 lbs of ham @ 9d per lb on 3 December 1911 from Arthur & Jane, thus assuring his family of a fine 1911 Christmas. Mr Richardson continued to agist his animals at Back Flat until at least February 1912 when Arthur & Jane received a cheque for the sum of £5 for agistment. Letter to Mr O’Rourke from Dellicknora 7 September 1910 Dear Sir Yours to hand re valuation of property. I am willing to pay a reasonable valuation fee. Perhaps Mr Gardiner of Watson & Gardiner firm would do that part of the business as he is well acquainted with the property. Re the shire notice enclosed, I might mention that there has not been a new rate struck for the last ten years and that all my improvements have been put on since that time which, if all reckoned up, I feel quite sure would be over £600. On the face of this fact, the shire notice is very much misleading about the amount to make lease freehold it would take £126/7/10½ of course that is the ……..acres is only 1d per acre which would not beg much value as …… The lease expires in 1940 with the prior right. Hoping this will satisfy your client and trusting you will be successful at an early date. Signed A H Wools-Cobb. By the time Arthur & Jane decided to sell Back Flat, the property had been vastly improved. There was about 842 acres of land with permanent streams and 8½ miles of fencing divided into 10 paddocks. I have not yet ascertained the exact date of the families departure from Dellicknora, but there is an invoice from Emily Ingram to A H Cobb by cash in Delegate 8/6 - 6 lbs beef @ 1/6, butter 1/-, hen and chickens 2/6 12 lbs beef at 3/- and boots for Henry Wools-Cobb 10/-, the family paying 6/8 on the day. The Emily referred to is Emily Hutchison who married Arthur Ingram in Bombala on the 27th January 1913. There is also a note that Arthur & Jane paid George Hutchison £5/9/6 on the 1st June 1913 so the family would have moved to Bunyip some time after 1 June 1913. The Wools-Cobb family arrived at Modella 4 August 1913. The pages from the Day Book for the period 4 August 1913 – 20 September 1914 are missing, with the exception of the statement below dated 8 Nov 1913. The one bone of contention between Arthur & Jane, throughout their marriage, was his appalling attitude toward money. He was hopeless and looked at land and horses without consideration of other factors that might affect the family. The shift to Modella was the last straw for Jane and the older children, particularly given that the move had meant the loss of Janes’ freehold land at Dellicknora. Modella 8th Nov 1913 This is to certify that I am not endebted (sic) to anybody whomsoever or wheresoever and I do hereby this day transfer to my wife all my worldly good and chattels, including stock, farm implements, wagon, etc; which has been purchased by me with money entrusted to me by her. The above mentioned moneys was procured by the sale of her maiden property at Dellicknora and I hereby agree that in future I will support (sic) my family by my own exertion. Signed A H Wools-Cobb In the presence of my two oldest children: Albert S Wools-Cobb Lily L Wools-Cobb. I, the under signed¸hereby agree to the above statement. Jane E Wools-Cobb. The children of Arthur & Jane sent money home to their parents from the day they began work and it could be argued that without their assistance, the family would have been in even more of a financial pickle. Jane (my Grandmother) was meticulous in noting down every penny received and every penny paid. For instance, in the 12 months from the time that Albert had joined the Navy, he had sent £23/10/-, whilst Henry had contributed £24 and Lily £17/5/-. When Kate went into Service, her first contribution was 15/-. This was true of all the children. Jane would even note the value of goods given to her by the children, such as: March 1920 – Table cloth & Serviettes 12/-: April 1920 – Cash & Washboard - £2/14/-.
The family grew Potatoes at Modella,
the return on which was not huge given the expenditure of labour. A cheque was
received for £40/5/- in March 1916, but only cleared £8/8/4 after paying freight
of £3/8/- and commission of £18/8/6. Further, the land that was prone to
flooding, indeed the entire district was criss-crossed with drains in an effort
to control the water. This unending battle finally defeated them.
Dads’ doings since that time
Undated Account
sent to Mr Baker Money lent 5/- Socks 1/6 Tobacco 1/5 Carting spuds 15/- One and a half weeks tucker at 12/- = 18/- Cake – 1 from Holgate; 1 from Hopphel 3/- Matches 6d Two weeks tucker £1/4/-
There is a gap in the Day Book of nearly 2 months – until 23 May 1916
The cost of production for the eggs from February 1916 to June 1916 was £38/2/10. Money received for that period from the sale of the eggs was £31/17/5, so was running at a loss.
The situation improved somewhat for the period July 1916 through to 31 Dec 1916, with costs at £91/10/4, with sales of £113/0/1, so a small profit of £15/4/4 – not a good return given the work involved.
The family started looking for another property actively in 1916, selling up in 1917 after another horrendous year fighting the water.
The family were in their new home and milking by July 1917 for James Hamilton Vaughan, a Dairy Farmer at Yarragon. Their 1st milk cheque received 14 July 1917 for £1/12/-
Elsie, their daughter, born 1908, described the house at Yarragon as “…. had only four rooms and a very small hall that ran from the front door to the kitchen.” All the children helped with the milking.
Dairy Share Farming did not become a new career for long. Their last cream cheque, noted in the Day Book, was £20/0/8 received 23 Jan 1918. The family received a total income from cream, over a 7 month period, of £167/17/-
The Wools-Cobb family bought 20 acres with a house in Gladstone Road, Dandenong. Grandma was devastated, and stated that had she not already paid for the property with practically every penny she possessed, she would have turned on her heels and left. Once again, Grandpa had just looked at the property, rather than the overall picture. The house was not even lined and looked like a Signal Box. There were two rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs, with a balcony. Only one room was lined; Albert was later to line the kitchen with tin. The children slept head to toe in beds in one of the rooms upstairs. Thank heavens not all children were in the household at the same time. The family seemed to have gone from bad to worse, yet this time the family stayed at Gladstone Road until they bought their retirement home at 10 Sunnyside Avenue, Dandenong, on the eve of the Second World War.
Descendants of William Hutchison
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Monaro
Pioneers